Department for Transport

Large Goods Vehicles: Foreign Companies

Tom Tugendhat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many foreign-registered HGVs entered the UK in 2015.

Andrew Jones: We estimate that in 2015, 2.0 million foreign registered powered goods vehicles entered Great Britain from mainland Europe. Powered goods vehicles include some vehicles weighing under 3.5 tonnes, which would not be classed as heavy goods vehicles.

Roads: Plymouth

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department has allocated to Plymouth City Council for pothole maintenance since 2010; and what estimate he has made of how many potholes have been repaired as a result of that funding.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport allocated funding of £4.7 billion for local highways maintenance to local highway authorities in England from 2010 to 2015 which would be enough to repair approximately 89 million potholes based on an average of £53 per pothole. A further £6.1 billion is being allocated between now and 2021, including £250 million as part of a Pothole Action Fund, which could fix a further 115 million potholes. For Plymouth City Council we are providing over £25 million for local highways maintenance between 2010 and 2021 enough to help them repair over 400,000 potholes.

A45

Tom Pursglove: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of progress on the planned dualing of the A45 between Stanwick and Thrapston.

Andrew Jones: When the first ever Road Investment Strategy was published in December 2014 we made a commitment to develop a scheme to dual the A45 between Stanwick and Thrapston. The Government understands the importance of a fully dualled A45 between the A14 and the M1. We remain committed to removing this final bottleneck on the route yet are mindful of the environmental concerns locally. We anticipate that the development of this scheme will begin shortly and will include public engagement. The scheme will be delivered as part of the second Road Investment Strategy which is due to begin in April 2020.

A45

Tom Pursglove: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of progress on the planned improvements to the Chowns Mill roundabout.

Andrew Jones: We have completed a number of technical surveys and are carrying out preliminary design activities for the project. A public engagement event to seek views and opinions from local residents and businesses is planned for Autumn/Winter 2016. We anticipate that works will start in late 2019. At this very early stage of planning the project, we expect the construction phase to last around 18 months.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with motor vehicle insurance companies on reducing the level of insurance premiums.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport has held a number of recent meetings with the motor insurance industry, for example to discuss young driver safety and technology measures which impact on the cost of insurance. The Autumn Statement 2015 announced the Government will bring forward measures to reduce the excessive costs arising from unnecessary whiplash claims, and as the industry is competitive we expect average savings of £40 to £50 per motor insurance policy to be passed onto customers. Some insurers have already committed to pass on all savings to consumers as a result of the proposed changes. The pricing of insurance products is a commercial matter for individual insurers in which the Government does not seek to intervene.

Taxis: Licensing

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to take steps to introduce more standardised taxi licensing regulations between authorities in close geographical proximity.

Andrew Jones: Local licensing authorities are empowered to set standards for taxi and private hire vehicle services that best meet the needs of their local area. In doing so, the safety of the travelling public must always be the first priority. Whilst the Department issues Best Practice Guidance to assist local authorities set standards, the Government does not at this time plan to introduce standardised licensing criteria. Nevertheless, it is prudent for local authorities to consider the standards of neighbouring authorities, and consult those authorities, when setting standards.

Railways: Performance Standards

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of dwell times on the (a) punctuality of and (b) number of cancellations on automated rail services.

Claire Perry: There are no automated rail services on the UK national rail network.

Bridges: Ipswich

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of constructing a river crossing at Ipswich; and whether he plans that that cost will be wholly funded by his Department.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Suffolk County Council estimates a total cost of £96.6 million for the construction of the Wet Dock project at Ipswich. The Government will provide £77.5 million for the scheme which represents 80% of the estimated scheme cost, with Suffolk County Council taking responsibility for meeting the remaining 20% and any increases in costs beyond that.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to halve the level of the Severn Bridge tolls inclusive or exclusive of VAT following the return of the Severn Bridge to public ownership.

Andrew Jones: After the end of the concession, the tolls will be 50% lower than the toll level when the concession comes to an end. This isn’t on top of the removal of VAT.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the level of the Severn Bridge tolls for each vehicle category in January (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.

Andrew Jones: The toll rates that will apply from January 2017 and January 2018 cannot yet be calculated, as they will depend on future rates of inflation which are not yet known. Tolls are set each January in accordance with the Severn Bridges Act 1992, which requires that tolls are increased in line with the Retail Price Index in the preceding September, compared to a baseline of March 1989, rounded to the nearest ten pence. This ensures that the tolls stay constant in real terms over time.

Ports: EU Action

Mr Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is the Government's policy that the EU Ports Services Regulation should be subject to the 12-month review procedure to assess its conformity with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality agreed between the Prime Minister and the EU and that no further action should be taken to progress that regulation until that review has taken place.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As part of the settlement secured by the Prime Minister, the European Commission has committed to establish in the future a mechanism to review existing EU legislation for its compliance with the principle of subsidiarity and proportionality. This is an important shift in how the EU operates. Negotiations on the EU Port Services Regulation (PSR) are ongoing and I am committed to defending the UK’s successful ports and to opposing any amendments that would damage the efficiency and competitiveness of our ports sector.

Ports: EU Action

Mr Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received on the proposed EU Ports Services Regulation; and what proposals he plans to make to other EU member states on that regulation.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I have received recent representations from Honourable Members, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) as well as the British Ports Association (BPA) and the United Kingdom Major Ports Group (UKMPG) on the EU Port Services Regulation (PSR). I intend to work closely with like-minded EU Member States to ensure that as far as possible we achieve an outcome that protects the competitiveness and efficiency of the UK ports sector.

Ports: Government Assistance

Mr Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is the Government's policy to oppose the proposals of the EU Competition Directorate to introduce a block exemption from state aid regulations for EU ports.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The EU Competition Directorate recently launched an initial public consultation on the proposed extension of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) to ports and airports. The Government is currently studying the proposals and seeking the views of stakeholders before responding by the consultation deadline of 30 May 2016.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been received from the EU to meet expenditure arising from or in connection with High Speed 2 since 2009.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport was awarded €39.2 million for HS2 under the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility. This funding will be provided in stages between 2015 and 2019.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many lorry movements there have been to remove spoil excavated in Greater London related to the construction of High Speed 2.

Mr Robert Goodwill: There have been no lorry movements to remove spoil excavated in Greater London related to the construction of High Speed 2.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which road projects his Department plans to finance from the (a) £49 million previously announced to repair roads following Storms Desmond and Eva and (b) £130 million set out in paragraph 1.239 of the Budget 2016; and how much he plans to allocate to each such project.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport is allocating £180 million to help assist local highway authorities affected by the storms this winter season. This includes a further £130 million as announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget 2016. It will be for each local highway authority to decide on how this funding will be spent in in Cumbria, Lancashire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Greater Manchester and Durham in repairing damaged local highway infrastructure.

Heathrow Airport

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many schools are located under the current Heathrow Airport final approach flight paths; and what projection he has made of the number of schools that would be located under proposed flight paths in the event of the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government continues to consider the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report, including on flight paths, before taking any decisions on next steps. Ultimately, any proposals to alter the airport’s flightpaths would be subject to the Civil Aviation Authority’s Airspace Change Process which includes the need to consult those local communities affected.

Heathrow Airport

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what timetable he has set for a consultation on the night flight operations perimeters at Heathrow Airport to replace the existing agreement after October 2017.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government plans to carry out a two stage consultation to review the current night flight restrictions. The first stage will be a call for evidence and we expect to publish this shortly.

Heathrow Airport

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many reports of lasers being shone into the cockpits of passenger aircraft landing or taking off from Heathrow Airport there have been in the last three years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The table below details the number of reports received by the Civil Aviation Authority of laser incidents targeted against aircraft landing or taking off from London Heathrow Airport. YearNumber of reported incidents201215020131442014165201595** ** A final analysis of laser occurrence reports received for the 2015 period will be available by the end of April 2016.

London Airports

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department's work on assessing the three airport options proposed by the Airport's Commission includes a review of the safety and security risks associated with an (a) additional or extended runway at Heathrow and (b) additional runway at Gatwick Airport.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government continues to consider the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

Bridges: Lowestoft

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of constructing a river crossing at Lowestoft; and whether he plans that that cost will be wholly funded by his Department.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Suffolk County Council estimates a total cost of £91.7 million for the construction of a 3rd Crossing over Lake Lothing at Lowestoft . The Government will provide £73.4m for the scheme which represents 80% of the estimated scheme cost, with Suffolk County Council taking responsibility for meeting the remaining 20% and any increases in costs beyond that.

Heathrow Airport

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made on the effect of a potential third runway at Heathrow on insurance premiums for (a) business and (b) residential properties under the proposed new flightpath.

Mr Robert Goodwill: No assessment of the effect of a potential third runway at Heathrow on insurance premiums has been carried out. As is the case at all airports, the issue of insurance is a private matter for households and businesses.

Roads: South East

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the schedule is for road works to establish a connected corridor from London to Dover; and what the projected end date is for establishing that corridor.

Andrew Jones: Timescales for delivery of the A2 M2 London to Dover Connected Vehicles Corridor remain indicative. Feasibility work is due to conclude in June 2016, after which detailed scheme design is programmed to complete during 2017. Between September 2017 and January 2019, infrastructure will be deployed at the roadside and, where possible on existing street furniture, to minimise disruption. These devices will connect wirelessly with a limited number of test vehicles. Evaluation will be ongoing during that period. The programme is expected to report during 2018/19 on recommendations for future deployment.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Homelessness

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received from homelessness charities in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: Ministers meet with representatives of local authorities, voluntary and charity sector organisations and other partners on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues including ways to improve support to help those who are vulnerable and at risk of becoming homeless.In particular, I have chaired two roundtables with the chief executives of leading homelessness charities to help shape and inform our future approach to reducing homelessness.I have also visited or met with representatives from the following homelessness organisations:Connections St Martin’s in the Field Arlington HostelThe PassageCrisisHomeless LinkThames ReachSt Mungo’s BroadwayDepaulRiverside St George’s Support CentreSt Petroc's Society, CornwallSt Basil's, Birmingham

Sleeping Rough

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what statistics his Department holds on the nationality of people who are sleeping rough.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department does not require local authorities to submit data on the nationality of rough sleepers. However information on the nationality of rough sleepers in London, collected by the Combined Homelessness and Information Network, is shown in the Department’s annual rough sleeping statistical release which is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/503015/Rough_Sleeping_Autumn_2015_statistical_release.pdf

Retail Trade: Urban Areas

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the percentage change in high street footfall figures was in each UK region in the last two years for which figures are available.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold figures for UK footfall, however there are external sources that do collect these statistics.The British Retail Consortium/Springboard Footfall and Vacancies Monitor publishes a monthly roundup of national changes in UK footfall.

Domestic Violence: Refuges

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of domestic violence refuges which have closed as a result of lack of funding in each of the last five years.

Mr Marcus Jones: Domestic Abuse is a devastating crime. That is why we are determined to ensure that victims get the help they need when they need it. In last year's Spending Review we secured new £40 million funding to support victims of domestic abuse.It is for local areas to assess their needs for domestic abuse services and to make decisions on the provision of safe accommodation, including refuges and support for victims of domestic abuse.In the new Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy published on the 8 March, we set out our ambition to improve services for women suffering from domestic abuse, commiting to a new Statement of Expectations to set out for the first time what we expect from local areas.To support this, we are launching a new two year fund for refuges and other forms of accommodation-based support and to help local areas take the steps they need to meet the National Statement.The new funding builds on the £3.5 million funding to support victims of domestic abuse and is on top of the £10 million funding to stop refuges closing and strengthen the provision of safe accommodation in the last spending review period.

Homelessness

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 1.149 of the Budget 2016, how much of the increased funding available to prevent and reduce homelessness is in addition to the funding allocated to his Department in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Mr Marcus Jones: One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness. We have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.This builds on our Spending Review commitment to increase central government funding to £139 million over the next four years. We announced in the Budget that £10 million of this would be spent to support and scale up innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, particularly in London and that funding for the Rough Sleeping Social Impact Bond announced in the Spending Review will be doubled from £5 million to £10 million.We also announced in the Budget an additional £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living. We will re-prioritise money within our existing capital budgets to deliver this accommodation. This will not affect delivery of the Government’s Starter Homes and Shared Ownership programmes.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Brandon Lewis: The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed.The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. HM Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

Starter Home Initiative

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of Baroness Williams of Trafford, 1 March 2016, HL Deb column 809, if he will place in the Library a copy of the research referenced in that contribution on the affordability of starter homes.

Brandon Lewis: This is a finding from DCLG analysis of the estimated lower quartile of prices paid by first time buyers in 2014, and the total income of households in the private rented sector, considered by region.

Communities and Local Government: Grants

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 30411, on grants, to which 45 bodies his Department has provided grant funding under the Charities Act 2011 during the financial year 2015-16.

Brandon Lewis: The Information requested is given in the table below>Beneficiary list for s70 GrantsACREActaAngelou CentreApasenthBoard of Deputies of British JewsCentre for Ageing BetterCentre for Engineering and Manufacturing ExcellenceCity of London CorporationCommonwealth War Graves CommissionCumbria Community Foundation CharityEbbsfleet Development CorporationFaith ActionFaith MattersGroundwork UKGROWHamara HLCHealthy Living solutionHer CentreHolocaust Memorial Day TrustInter Faith Network for the UKKarma NirvanaLifeLine Community ProjectsLocal Government AssociationMencapMitzvah Day UKNational Association of Local CouncilsNational Communities Resorce CentreNESTAPower to Change TrustPromoting African Refugee Community AssociationPub is the HubReading Community Learning CentreShantona Women's CentreSuperactTender Education & ArtsThe Church Urban FundThe Precious TrustThe Women's OrganisationTimeBank (One20)Tinder FoundationTPAS LtdUmmah HelpVictoria Cross TrustWiener LibraryWomanzone

Floods: European Union Solidarity Fund

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what engagement his Department has conducted with EU officials on the application for assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund to help communities affected by recent floods since making that application.

James Wharton: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Floods: European Union Solidarity Fund

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department has applied for from the EU Solidarity Fund to help communities affected by recent floods.

James Wharton: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Floods: Costs

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the total cost of damage caused by floods in winter 2015-16.

James Wharton: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

David Haigh

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the government of the United Arab Emirates on the continued imprisonment of David Haigh.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been providing consular assistance to Mr Haigh since his arrest, and has discussed his case with the Emirati authorities on a regular basis, most recently on Monday 21 March 2016. We are pleased that Mr Haigh has now been found not guilty and will soon be released.

Turkey: Politics and Government

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Turkey since the recent terrorist bombing in Ankara; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The Government condemns the attacks in Ankara on 13 March and in Istanbul on 19 March. The UK stands in solidarity with Turkey, a NATO ally and valued partner for the UK. As noted in our travel advice, the threat from terrorism remains high, with the Kurdish separatist PKK, Daesh and other terrorist organisations continuing to plan and carry out attacks. The UK condemns terrorism in all its forms, and is clear that PKK terrorist attacks must end. We welcome Turkey’s invaluable contribution to the international campaign against Daesh as a member of the Global Coalition committed to defeating it.

Hong Kong

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that China maintains its commitment to the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on protecting the dual citizenship of people with British citizenship living in Hong Kong.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on protecting the rights of citizens with dual British and Chinese nationality living in Hong Kong.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent to which there is a threat to freedom of speech in Hong Kong.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of China's record in observing the agreements made in the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong.

Mr Hugo Swire: During his meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on 5 January and in London on 4 February, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), stressed the importance of respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of all residents of Hong Kong. He also made clear our expectations that the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law for Hong Kong should be respected. During those meetings, China reaffirmed its commitment to the implementation of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ and Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy.During the visit to London by Hong Kong Chief Executive C Y Leung on 15 and 16 October 2015, the Foreign Secretary and I also discussed with him the importance of Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and the need to preserve the rights and freedoms which are enshrined in the Joint Declaration.The Foreign Secretary’s most recent six-monthly report to the House, published on 11 February (covering the period 1 July–31 December 2015), urged “the Chinese and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region governments to reassure the people of Hong Kong that the fundamental rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents will continue to be fully protected, and respected by all, in accordance with the Joint Declaration and Basic Law.” The report also stated that “while we assess that during the reporting period ‘One Country, Two Systems’ has, in very many areas, continued to function well, there have been some areas which have given grounds for concern. These revolve principally around the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Joint Declaration, including academic freedom and the freedom of the press.” We will continue to raise such issues with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities.We aim to provide consular assistance to all British citizens, and to dual nationals in their country of other nationality in exceptional circumstances, in line with our consular guidance. We acknowledge that some countries do not accept dual nationality.In the case of British citizen Mr Lee Po, the Government continues to call at the highest level on the Chinese Government for his immediate return to Hong Kong. Despite formal requests which we continue to make, we have not been granted consular access to Mr Lee. We also stand ready to provide consular assistance to Mr Lee’s family.The Government will continue to monitor rights and freedoms in Hong Kong through the Foreign Secretary’s six-monthly reports.The full report can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/six-monthly-report-on-hong-kong-july-to-december-2015

United Arab Emirates: British Nationals Abroad

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports his Department has received on alleged mistreatment and torture of British citizens in detention in the United Arab Emirates since 2011.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Consular Directorate is aware of 37 cases of British nationals who have made allegations of torture or mistreatment in detention in the United Arab Emirates since and including 2011. The FCO takes all allegations or concerns of torture and mistreatment seriously and takes action appropriate to the circumstances of each case, including raising these with the Emirati authorities where we have permission from the individual.

Syria: Refugees

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Turkish government on the security screening and monitoring processes for refugees entering from Syria; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those processes during the last six months.

Mr David Lidington: We regularly discuss these and other issues with the Turkish government. Turkey is a key partner for the EU in the migration crisis borne out of the situation in Syria. The UK recognises Turkey’s extraordinary generosity in hosting over 2.7 million refugees from Syria. In 2016 Turkey has taken steps to improve its screening of incoming refugees. It has also amended its visa regime for Syrians and Iraqis who, bar those crossing the land border, are now required to obtain a Turkish visa prior to arrival.

Turkey: Refugees

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what mechanisms are included in the proposed EU-Turkey refugee agreement to monitor the use of funds sent to Turkey under the terms of that agreement.

Mr David Lidington: At the March European Council on 17-18 March the EU agreed to speed up disbursement of the €3bn Refugee Facility for Turkey and to mobilise an additional €3bn of EU support once the initial €3bn is used in full. The UK has secured strong Member State oversight as part of the governance arrangements for the Refugee Facility for Turkey and will be an active member of the EU Steering Committee for the Facility. This will deliver development assistance through existing EU instruments to meet the objectives articulated in the EU Turkey Joint Action Plan. The use of these funds will be monitored through existing governance and fiduciary controls.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the 4th EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Mr David Lidington: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d'affaires. The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.”

Iraq: Genocide

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26920, if he will offer the Iraqi government British forensic team support to investigate mass graves discovered in Sinjar.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Islamic State: Crimes against Humanity

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of whether Daesh has been responsible for (a) crimes against humanity and (b) ethnic cleansing.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Government is appalled by the brutal human rights abuses and violations of humanitarian law perpetrated by Daesh. There have been many credible reports of Daesh crimes, including public executions, torture, bodies routinely mutilated and put on public display, and mass executions. Any conviction of a person for Crimes Against Humanity, will be decided by a court after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process.

Islamic State: Genocide

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government's policy is on the UN Security Council referring evidence of potential genocide by Daesh to the International Criminal Court.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Islamic State: Yazidis

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26922 and the statement with reference to genocide on 17 March 2016 by the US Secretary of State on Daesh atrocities, if he will reassess the Government's policy on judgements as to whether genocide has occurred.

Mr Philip Hammond: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Islamic State: Yazidis

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with US Secretary of State on the killing of Yazidis by Daesh.

Mr Philip Hammond: I frequently discuss Daesh with US Secretary of State Kerry, including their appalling brutality towards both Muslims and minorities, such as the Yazidis.

Angola: Yellow Fever

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Angolan counterparts on the current outbreak of yellow fever in Angola.

James Duddridge: The British Embassy in Luanda has been in close contact with the Government of Angola and the World Health Organisation regarding the current outbreak of yellow fever. The UK is the largest donor to Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance) and is providing £1.44 billion for 2016-2020. Gavi is supporting Angola’s response through the International Coordination Group’s Revolving Fund. We understand that Angola has received 7 million doses from the International Coordination Group to respond to the outbreak. The UK is also supporting vaccinations for yellow fever in Luanda through the World Health Organisation.

Bahrain: Torture

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have reported being tortured since the start of his Department's technical assistance programme in Bahrain.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We do not have figures on the number of people who reported torture in Bahrain however we unreservedly condemn torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is a priority for us to combat it wherever and whenever it occurs. We believe that UK support to Bahrain’s reform programme is the most constructive way to achieve long-lasting and sustainable reform in Bahrain. While it will take time to see the full results, UK support is having a direct, positive impact on areas of concern.

Bahrain: Prisoners

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the government of Bahrain on the imprisonment of Zainab Al Khawaja; and whether he plans to make representations to press for Zainab Al Khawaja's release.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have raised Zainab Al Khawaja’s case with the Government of Bahrain at the highest levels. The UK encourages Bahrain to respect the rights of all peaceful opposition figures. We call on the Bahraini government to act proportionately in all such cases to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression and assembly. I most recently raised human rights with the Bahraini Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa , on 8 March.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Security

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30592, which outsourced providers her Department uses for security services; and if she will request information from those providers on the rate of pay for security guards providing services for her Department.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: My Department uses Noonan as its provider for security services. They have declined to provide information on the rate of pay for security guards who provide services for my department.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she has made an assessment of the effect of the group calling itself the new IRA on the security situation in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: The threat from Northern Ireland related terrorism in Northern Ireland is considered to be SEVERE. This means an attack is highly likely.The so-called new IRA is one of a small number of dissident republican groupings that aspire to undermine Northern Ireland’s democratic institutions through the use of violence. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and MI5 work tirelessly to limit the threat that these groupings pose.This Government will always give its fullest possible backing to the PSNI and other agencies who do such an effective job in keeping people in Northern Ireland safe and secure. Under this Government there will be no let-up in our efforts to ensure that terrorism does not succeed.I report regularly to the House on the threat from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism. The most recent is available at:http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2015-12-15/HCWS394/

Northern Ireland Office: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much funding her Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: My Department has not received any funding from the European Social Fund in either of the periods requested. Implementation of the European Social Fund in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Living Wage: Advertising

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2016 to Question 24849, how much of the budget allocated for the National Living Wage advertising campaign has been allocated to advertisements on the London Underground.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to answer Question 28906, tabled on 3 March 2016 by the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, on the living wage.

Nick Boles: Holding answer received on 17 March 2016



£42,000 has been allocated to advertisements on the London Underground. The Government’s new National Living Wage is a step up for working people, so it is important workers know their rights and that employers pay the new £7.20 from April 1st. The campaign will tell people about their entitlements and is targeted at employers, and workers currently earning the National Minimum Wage.

National Union of Mineworkers: Membership

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information the Certification Officer holds on the number of members of the National Union of Mineworkers in each year from 2003-04 to present.

Nick Boles: The number of members of the National Union of Mineworkers in each year from 2003-04 to present, as submitted to the Certification Officer, are provided in the two links below. 2003-2012 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140701201750/http://www.certoffice.org/Nav/Trade-Unions/National-Union-of-Mineworkers.aspx 2012-2014 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-union-of-mineworkers-annual-returns

National Union of Mineworkers: Northumberland

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information the Certification Officer holds on the number of members of the Northumberland branch of the National Union of Mineworkers in each year from 2003-04 to present.

Nick Boles: The two links below provide information that the Certification Officer holds on the number of members of the Northumberland branch of the National Union of Mineworkers in each year from 2003 to 2014. Annual Returns 2003-12 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140701201750/http://www.certoffice.org/Nav/Trade-Unions/National-Union-of-Mineworkers-(Northumberland-Area.aspx  Annual Returns 2012-2014 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-union-of-mineworkers-northumberland-area-annual-returns

Pubs Code Adjudicator

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will withdraw the appointment of Paul Newby as the Pubs Code Adjudicator.

Anna Soubry: My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills does not intend to withdraw the appointment of Paul Newby as the Pubs Code Adjudicator.

UK Trade and Investment: Staff

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many UK Trade and Industry (UKTI) staff have direct experience of working in private sector exporting companies before taking up their employment at UKTI.

Anna Soubry: UK Trade & Investment does not hold information on staff with direct experience of working in private sector exporting companies. I can however confirm that a large number of its staff have been recruited from the private sector.

Materials: Patents

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the proportion of global patents for graphene that is held in the UK.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Minimum Wage

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which companies have failed to pay the national minimum wage since the introduction of the new naming and shaming regulations on 1 October 2013.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Science: Lothian

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish further information on the science and innovation audit for Edinburgh and the Lothians set out in paragraph 1.268 of Budget 2016.

Joseph Johnson: The Edinburgh and Lothians audit is being taken forward in collaboration with a consortium led by Edinburgh University. Further information will be provided on GOV.UK in due course, once the first wave of audits gets underway.

Department for International Development

Overseas Aid

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment of the extent to which recent changes to the OECD's Official Development Assistance (ODA) definition will divert ODA away from welfare programmes into military programmes.

Justine Greening: The recent DAC High Level Meeting was able to agree the first update in the ODA rules in over 40 years and reflect the changing nature of aid delivery. All of this is in line with the primary purpose of ODA - to support the economic development and welfare of development countries – and this has not changed.

Developing Countries: Taxation

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what additional revenues were achieved for developing countries as a result of the pilot scheme for Tax Inspectors Without Borders; and how much such revenue derived from improved tax settlements with clients of the so-called big four accounting firms.

Justine Greening: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has recently reported that Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TWIB) deployments have assisted countries to increase their tax collected by over $185 million.DFID does not have access to information about which professional services companies are used under the TIWB programme.

Department for International Development: Taxation

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of her Department spending on issues of tax since 2010 was paid to the so-called big 4 accounting firms; and how much her Department spent on (a) academic research on tax, and (b) civil society work on tax in that time.

Justine Greening: This information is not available in the form requested.

Developing Countries: Health Services

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will press for an amendment of the current indicator for health within the Sustainable Development Goals, to ensure it accurately measures coverage of health services and financial risk protection.

Mr Desmond Swayne: There are 25 proposed indicators for the health goal; the coverage of health services is included within these as is a measure relating to health financing. The United Nations Statistical Commission has asked the Inter-Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators to take forward further work on the indicator framework, including a review of the indicator on health financing due to the concerns over its ability to measure financial risk protection in its current form. The UK supported the request for review.

Angola: Yellow Fever

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment of the current outbreak of yellow fever in Angola and its regional implications; and whether the Government will assist the World Health Organisation supported vaccination campaign led by the Angolan government.

Mr Nick Hurd: This Government’s assessment is that the national response to the yellow fever outbreak in Angola is growing in strength with support from the international community and the strategic use of donated vaccines. To date surrounding countries have not suffered related outbreaks and exported yellow fever cases to China, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been managed effectively.The United Kingdom is supporting the national vaccination campaign in Angola through its core funding to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and to the World Health Organisation. The international response has provided 7.3 million doses of yellow fever vaccine to Angola to respond to the outbreak.

Department for Education

Teachers: Training

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the distribution of teacher training places in the (a) North Staffordshire sub-region and (b) West Midlands region.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education has changed the approach to initial teacher training (ITT) allocations for the 2016 to 2017 academic year. The National College for Teaching and Leadership are not allocating a specific number of places to individual organisations for postgraduate ITT courses due to start in the 2016 to 2017 academic year. Instead, eligible schools, school-centred initial teacher training providers (SCITTs) and higher education institutions (HEIs) will be able to recruit as many trainees as they feel they need (subject to a limited number of controls), until the overall system has recruited a sufficient number. School Direct lead schools, SCITTs and universities across all regions have been given greater freedom for the 2016/17 academic year to manage their recruitment according to local need. We are monitoring regional recruitment across all subjects, including the West Midlands region. However, as School Direct and SCITT partnerships cover large geographical areas, we are not monitoring recruitment at a sub-regional level.To date, the only challenge in geographical distribution of ITT places has been found in the London region in recruitment to primary, which was recruiting slower than other regions. In this case we have allowed school led routes (i.e. School Direct (tuition fee) and SCITTs) in this region to continue to recruit to primary courses to ensure that enough trainees are recruited. For all other regions, recruitment is broadly the same as in 2015/16 with some areas showing an increase. We are prepared to use reserve recruitment controls in other subjects, or for other regions, as required.

Academies: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Education Funding Agency takes to discover related party transactions which are not disclosed Academy Trust financial statements.

Edward Timpson: Under their funding agreement with the Secretary of State, academy trusts must prepare annual financial statements in accordance with the Charity Commission’s Statement of Recommended Practice and the Education Funding Agency’s Accounts Direction, which include requirements for disclosing related party transactions. The financial statements must be externally audited and the auditor must give an opinion on whether they have been prepared on the required basis. The Academies Financial Handbook can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-financial-handbook-2015

Academies: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse was of monitoring related party transactions in Academy Trusts in the (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15 financial years; and what the projected cost of such transactions is in 2015-16.

Edward Timpson: The board of trustees of an academy trust is responsible for monitoring related party transactions. The Education Funding Agency (EFA) reviews related party transactions as part of our assurance and intervention work. Oversight of related party transactions in academies is strong, compared to maintained schools, because of the requirement for trusts to publish details in their financial statements and to have these audited.This work forms part of the EFA’s regular assurance and intervention work and does not have a cost associated with it as part of the whole budget for the EFA.

Pupil Referral Units: Teachers

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many trainee teachers have carried out practical teaching experience at pupil referral units.

Nick Gibb: From the 2015/16 Census, 19 trainee teachers had one of their school experiences at a pupil referral unit.

Academies: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Education Funding Agency determines whether related party transactions by Academy Trusts are made at cost in the case of payments to consultants with variable rates.

Edward Timpson: Academy trusts are responsible for ensuring that payments to consultants who are connected parties comply with the ‘at cost’ policy as required by the Academies Financial Handbook. The trust’s accounting officer must report in their statement of regularity, propriety and compliance any instances of material non-compliance and the external auditor must provide a regularity report to the trust and Education Funding Agency stating whether these transactions comply with the handbook. The Academies Financial Handbook can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-financial-handbook-2015

Pupil Referral Units

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupil referral units have converted to academy status since 2013.

Edward Timpson: As at 15 March 2016, 44 Pupil Referral Units have converted to academy status since 2013. These include both, converter and sponsored academy status. All of these academies are currently open.

Academies: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many related party transactions by Academy Trusts were classified as irregular or improper by the Education Funding Agency in each of the last two financial years; and how many such cases resulted in re-payment.

Edward Timpson: The data requested is summarised in the table below. Figures for the year ending 31 August 2015 will be available when the Education Funding Agency (EFA) has completed its reviews for that year in summer 2016. Year ending 31 August 2014Number of irregular related party transactions (RPTs)26 (2.4% of trusts with RPTs)Number of repayments0 The EFA takes proportionate action when it identifies irregular transactions, on a case by case basis, which can include the recovery of funds.

Academies: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Education Funding Agency determines whether related party transactions by Academy Trusts are made at cost.

Edward Timpson: Academy trusts are responsible for ensuring that connected party transactions comply with the ‘at cost’ policy as required by the Academies Financial Handbook. The trust’s accounting officer must report in their statement of regularity, propriety and compliance any instances of material non-compliance and the external auditor must provide a regularity report to the trust and Education Funding Agency stating whether these transactions comply with the handbook. The Academies Financial Handbook can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-financial-handbook-2015

Pupil Referral Units

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many free schools and academies have opened as pupil referral units since 2013.

Edward Timpson: Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) are funded by local authorities to offer alternative provision (AP) education. Academies and free schools are unable to open as PRUs. Since 2013, 44 PRUs have converted to become AP academies. Since 2012, 32 AP free schools have opened, with 12 more approved to open in the future.

Home Education

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to collect statistics on the number of children home schooled in each unitary and county council authority area.

Edward Timpson: At present, local authorities (LAs) are not required to collect this data.

Schools: Finance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her financial statement of 16 March 2016, Official Report, column 963, how the £500 million funding will be used to speed up the introduction of a fair national school funding formula.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Chancellor announced at the Budget that £540 million would be provided to the Department for Education to support the school reform agenda. This will supplement the department’s Spending Review settlement. We will spend around £500 million over the Spending Review period, over and above the per pupil protection of the core school budget, to accelerate the introduction of a fair national funding formula. All of this funding will be provided to support children’s education. The funding means that the government will be able to accelerate gains for schools that are due to see funding increases under the formula, while continuing to offer a minimum funding guarantee for all schools. We are currently consulting on the principles and funding factors that should define the national funding formula for schools. A second consultation, later this year, will address the weighting attached to those factors and transitional arrangements, including the use of this funding. A link to the consultation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/schools-national-funding-formula.

Teachers: Training

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage older professionals to enter the teaching profession for the first time.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Teachers: Training

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people started studying for a PGCE in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: Figures from the initial teacher training data management system show the number of first year PGCE trainees from 2010:  Number of first year trainees on PGCE course2010/1119,9312011/1218,9132012/1320,1952013/1421,858 2014/15 performance profiles will be available from late July.

Academies: Standards

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy that new academies should not join under-performing multi-academy trusts.

Edward Timpson: Regional Schools Commissioners (RSC) are supporting the development of high-performing multi-academy trusts (MATs). MATs will play a crucial role in the future school system, enabling academies to realise a wide range of benefits and providing the formal structure in which high-performing schools can support under-performing schools to improve. RSCs are responsible for approving new academies and intervening in underperforming academies and free schools in their area. In assessing schools proposals for becoming academies, RSCs will ensure schools joining existing trusts are matched to the right MATs, according to their need, the trust’s capacity and how together they will secure long term success. New academies will be matched with MATs who are able to evidence good or better performance and capacity for sustained improvement. With MATs taking on an increasingly important role, it is important that parents and the wider system can access information on how well they are leading their schools. Therefore, as we outlined in the recent White Paper, Education Excellence Everywhere, we will launch new accountability measures for MATs, publishing MAT performance tables in addition to the continued publication of, and focus on, inspection and performance data at individual school level.

Pre-school Education

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 1.89 of the Budget 2016, whether nursery schools are included in the plans to convert all schools to academies; how she expects the changes announced in the Budget 2016 to affect nursery schools; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The expectation that all schools should become academies by 2020, set out in the 2016 Budget, did not include the early years. The government has already announced an ambitious plan to transform early years provision so that working families can receive 30 hours free childcare. The consultation on the National Funding Formula for schools sets out the government’s plans for replacing the arbitrary and unfair system for allocating primary and secondary school funding with a fairer system. Later this year, we will consult on proposals for a fairer funding system for all of the early years.

Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will establish an awards scheme for schools that have excelled in supporting children with special educational needs and disability similar to the scheme for pupil premium awards.

Edward Timpson: It is crucial that schools are effective in identifying their pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and providing the right support to help these pupils fulfil their potential. We have recently made major reforms to the SEND system through the Children and Families Act 2014, so as to improve the support for children and young people with SEND. In the White Paper that we published on 17 March, Educational Excellence Everywhere, we have set out plans to embed those reforms and review our strategy to improve SEND provision. As part of this we will wish to look at options for how to identify and promote excellent SEND practice in schools. If My Honourable Friend has any specific proposals then I would be happy to receive them.

Children in Care: Foreign Nationals

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many non-UK children of each nationality are currently looked after in (a) foster care and (b) residential homes.

Edward Timpson: The Department does not collect information on the nationality of looked after children. Information is available on their ethnic origin and this has been published in national table A1 of the statistical first release ‘Children looked after in England including adoption, 2014 to 2015’, which is attached and available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2014-to-2015.



Children looked after - 2014 to 2015
(Excel SpreadSheet, 1.09 MB)

Disability Living Allowance: Children

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether children who receive the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance are considered to be eligible children for free school transport; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether local authorities are obliged to provide free school transport to (a) all eligible children and (b) eligible children who receive the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance.

Nick Gibb: Local authorities have a statutory duty under section 508B of the Education Act 1996 to make suitable travel arrangements for all eligible children attending their nearest suitable school. This includes children with special education needs (SEN) or a disability or mobility problem (including temporary conditions) if their SEN or disability or mobility problem means that they could not reasonably be expected to walk to the school. Being in receipt of the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (a benefit with different eligibility criteria and assessment process administered by the Department for Work and Pensions) does not necessarily confer eligibility for free home to school transport but neither does it preclude it if the conditions above are met.

Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance and training Ofsted inspectors receive on applying the criteria for a good Ofsted grading in settings involving children with special education needs and disability.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners' Release

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were wrongly released in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous: The number of releases in error for each of the last 6 years is shown in the table below.Fewer than one in a thousand prisoners released are released in error. In the vast majority of cases where this does occur prisoners are returned quickly to prison. Any wrongful release is unacceptable. Each incident is investigated to see what lessons can be learnt and identify ways in which these errors can be eliminated.Caution should be used in interpreting any trends from the figures due to the low numbers involved.Releases in error from prison custody1, England and Wales 2009/10 to 2014/15  2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15 Total release in error686342445048  Releases in error refer to cases where a prisoner has been released earlier from prison custody than intended. They can occur in a range of circumstances including; sentence calculation error, delays in receiving documentation and misapplication of policy. Some occur directly from a prison establishment but also from other locations such as courts. Data Sources and Quality: Release in Error figures have been drawn from the NOMS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Although the figures are shown to the last case the figures may not be accurate to that level. Prior to 2011, there are quality concerns around Release in Error figures, and it is not possible to obtain accurate figures or identify the scale of inaccuracy in recorded figures as these were recorded in a manual database. A number of cases cannot be matched to legacy databases used at the time and some figures recorded may have referred to late releases, rather than early release in error.

Courts: Closures

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in how many and which courts in England and Wales court counters have closed in the last 12 months.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Court counters have closed at the following courts in the last 12 months: Grantham Magistrates’ Court; andSkegness Magistrates’ Court.

EU Nationals: Convictions

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many citizens of each other EU member state were convicted in the UK of (a) murder, (b) sexual offences and (c) serious violent crimes in each of the last 10 years.

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many EU nationals were convicted of a criminal offence in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Selous: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database does not hold the nationality of offenders convicted of criminal offences in England and Wales. Obtaining this information would incur disproportionate cost. As announced in the Prime Minister’s speech on 8 February, my officials have been working closely with the Home Office to introduce a legal requirement for defendants appearing in court to provide their name, date of birth and nationality. This will enable earlier identification of foreign national offenders and help with the removals process.

Prisons: Contracts

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that private contractors invest in prisons throughout the length of the management contract.

Andrew Selous: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is responsible for the management of the 14 private prisons in England and Wales. The terms of each contract include an agreed level of service. There are financial remedies which apply where a provider fails to achieve this expected level of performance, making sure that they have an incentive to properly support the rehabilitation of offenders on an ongoing basis. There are clear processes in place to monitor performance and identify emerging issues. Each private prison has an on-site Controller, accountable for providing assurance that the contracts for each prison are delivered in accordance with agreed contractual delivery indicators, and that the prison provides safe, decent and secure services in line with performance standards.

Feltham Young Offender Institution: Education

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 28130, on Feltham Young Offenders Institution: education, what steps his Department is taking to increase the average weekly hours of education and PE to the minimum requirement; and what assessment his Department has made of when that requirement is likely to be met.

Andrew Selous: Although youth crime is down, reoffending rates are far too high and the care and supervision of young offenders is custody is not good enough. That is why the Justice Secretary has asked Charlie Taylor to conduct a review of youth justice. He will report back later this year with recommendations on how to improve the treatment of young people in our care.Interim findings suggest the youth justice system would be more effective and better able to rehabilitate young people if education was at its heart. Smaller, local, secure schools would draw on educational and behavioural expertise to rehabilitate children and give them the skills they need to thrive on release. We welcome these initial findings and look forward to the final report of the review in the summer.

Claims Management Services

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of banning claims management companies under his proposals to increase the small claims limit in personal injury cases to £5,000.

Dominic Raab: The government will consult on the detail of the new reforms in due course, including any safeguards. The consultation will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

Personal Injury

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department has conducted or commissioned on the relationship between the number of personal injury claims and the level of insurance premiums.

Dominic Raab: The Government has received data from numerous sources, including from other Government Departments, solicitors and insurers. It will continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders in taking forward the new reform package, and will consult on the detail of the reforms in due course. The consultation will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

Knives: Sales

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many suppliers of knives have been convicted under section 141A of the Criminal Justice Act 1998 since that Act's implementation; and what the average length of custodial sentence received was for such convictions.

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many suppliers of knives have been convicted and prosecuted under section 141A of the Criminal Justice Act 1998 since that Act's implementation; and what the average length of custodial sentence received was for such convictions.

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many suppliers of knives have been convicted and prosecuted under section 141A of the Criminal Justice Act 1998 since that Act's implementation; and what average length of custodial sentence was received for such convictions.

Dominic Raab: Knife crime has no place on our streets and the Government continues to work with the police and partners, including retailers, to ensure that we reduce violence and knife crime. Selling knives, and certain articles with a blade or point, to under 18s is a criminal offence enforced by the police and Trading Standards with a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. The law is clear that a retailer commits a criminal offence if they do not take proper steps to make sure they are not selling knives to under-18s.The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty and sentenced at all courts of offences under S141A Criminal Justice Act 1988, England and Wales, from 1997 to 2003, can be viewed in the table.Persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty and sentenced at all courts for offences under S141A Criminal Justice Act 1988, England and Wales, 1997 to 2003(1)(2)   YearProceeded againstFound guiltySentencedof whichImmediate CustodyAverage custodial sentence length (4)   1997222 1*1998222 --1999322 --2000--- --2001988 --2002111010 --2003171717 --   ' - ' = Nil * = Figure suppressed as number too small to give meaningful average.(1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.   (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.   PQ 31364/31365 Data for 2004 to 2014 is available within the Criminal Justice Statistics publication at the link below.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014 .One person has been given an immediate custodial sentence for this offence therefore there is no average custodial sentence length.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Conditions of Employment

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) female HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) staff that work part-time and (b) other HCMTS staff with caring responsibilities will not be negatively affected by planned court and tribunal closures.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that members of HM Courts and Tribunals Service staff with protected characteristics will not be required to end their employment due to the closure of the court at which they work.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Following the closure announcement HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) began a period of staff consultation which includes discussions between all those affected and their management teams. Management teams will support staff in identifying suitable redeployment options taking into account their individual needs.

Courts: Safety

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that victims and witnesses are not subject to increased fear of intimidation from alleged perpetrators when travelling to court.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that defendants do not break bail conditions due to contact with people that those conditions do not allow when travelling to court.

Mike Penning: We have a range of special measures in place to support vulnerable witnesses and victims when they are giving evidence. These include the option of giving evidence from a remote location away from the court via live link, which significantly limits the risk of a witness coming into contact with a defendant or their supporters. This will mean victims of crime can give evidence from somewhere they feel safe.The Ministry of Justice also funds the delivery of the court-based Witness Service, delivered by Citizens Advice at all criminal courts in England and Wales. The Service has developed an enhanced package of support to vulnerable and intimidated witnesses (including victims). This enhanced level of support includes both support at court and pre-trial support and an outreach service offering home visits or meetings, in advance of trial, at Citizens Advice offices or another neutral and appropriate location, and meeting the witness outside the court and accompanying them inside. This enhanced service is being rolled out nationally and will be available in all areas by end of April 2016.The court can impose any bail condition necessary to ensure that a defendant does not interfere with a witness. If a bail condition is broken, this will have consequences for the offender, including the possibility of a remand into custody.

Courts

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) effect on cost and  (b) security implications for (i) court staff and (ii) witnesses of using alternative civic buildings for video links or court hearings.

Mr Shailesh Vara: All proposals to use alternative venues for video links or courts hearings will be assessed to make sure they are cost effective and secure for court staff, users and the judiciary. Security risk assessments will be carried out at all venues and appropriate measures will be put in place, including the deployment of designated Court Security Officers at the venue where appropriate.

Ministry of Defence

North Korea: Nuclear Power

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of North Korea's nuclear capability in (a) general and (b) relation to claims by that country that it has developed nuclear-tipped missiles.

Mr Julian Brazier: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) has stated its intention to develop and deploy nuclear weapons and has conducted nuclear and ballistic missile tests in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. The Department regularly updates its assessments of such programmes, but these assessments are not made public. We remain deeply concerned by the DPRK's actions and continue to urge the country to comply with its international obligations and refrain from any further provocations.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many defence personnel are based overseas (a) at each of Her Majesty's Armed Forces bases and (b) as part of a joint operation abroad.

Penny Mordaunt: There are 13,650 British defence personnel permanently based on British military bases overseas. This figure includes those based in Cyprus, Gibraltar, the South Atlantic Islands, Diego Garcia, Germany, Canada, Kenya, Brunei, Nepal and Belize. This figure represents the number of personnel who are stationed at that location. It may differ from the actual number of people working on the base at the time, for example due to deployments. The breakdown of these figures into country and Service is shown below; where countries have five or less personnel, these are rounded to zero and the country does not appear in the table. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) regularly publishes the location figures for both military and civilian personnel, this can be accessed on the GOV.UK website. Table 1UK Base CountryNavyArmyRAFCivilianTOTALGermany205,3301302,0107,490Canada102402010280Kenya018010480670Brunei1014010290450Nepal0200320340Cyprus201,5307401,1903,480Gibraltar1003030560720South Atlantic Islands10502030110Diego Garcia4000040Belize01006070TOTAL2107,5309604,9501,3650(Location of UK regular service and civilian personnel quarterly statistics- 1 January 2016) The number of defence personnel (military personnel and MOD civilians) on joint operations overseas is approximately 3,600. Joint operations have been defined in this instance as those operations where the UK's contribution is run through the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ). This includes coalition operations.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Mr Julian Brazier: Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d'affaires. The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

HMS Victory

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 27079, on Victory 1744, how many such meetings, on which dates, have been held between his officials and those in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Mark Lancaster: Since my previous answer of the 22 February 2016 officials met on the 11 March and further meetings between officials from both Departments will be held as these discussions continue.

Air Force: Cadets

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will reconsider its decision to withdraw Volunteer Gliding Squadrons provision for Air Cadets in Wales.

Mr Julian Brazier: No. Cadets from all Welsh cadet units will still have the opportunity to fly gliders.Volunteer Gliding Squadrons (VGS) due to disband are 634 Squadron currently based at St Athan and 636 Squadron currently based at Swansea. The intention is that these will be offset by an expansion of 1 Air Experience Flight at St Athan and that VGS in the West of England will become regional hubs.The reduced VGS footprint will allow resources to be focused on the remaining Squadrons. This will enable more suitable infrastructure to be built and maintained that supports the Air Cadet Organisation more fully. The key development across the estate over time will be to provide new overnight accommodation and training facilities that safely allows cadets and adult instructors, over full residential weekends, to carry out gliding alongside flying related ground training including gliding simulators, funded by the RAF Charitable Trust. This should improve access to such activities for those that are located further from VGS sites.Volunteers at affected Volunteer Gliding Squadrons will be offered opportunities to fill other posts within the Air Cadet Organisation dependent upon their own transferable skills and their personal preferences.

Ministry of Defence: Pensions

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by how much he plans that his Department's contribution to public sector pensions will increase in 2019-20 and future years.

Mark Lancaster: The full valuation of the public service pension schemes will commence in April this year. Following that full valuation process, which will take into account the new discount rate set in the Budget, the new employer contribution rates for the Armed Forces and Civil Service Pension Scheme will be set.

Electronic Warfare

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what definition his Department uses for cyber warfare.

Penny Mordaunt: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) (through its Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre) does not seek to define terms or elements of terms, particularly those applied in compound form, that are already in common use (i.e. "warfare").The MOD defines cyber activity as: "To operate and project power in and from cyberspace to influence the behaviour of people". The OECD defines "warfare" as: "engagement in or the activities involved in war or conflict".The MOD describes the active engagement in the conduct of "cyber operations" within our lexicon as being: "the planning and synchronisation of activities in and through cyberspace to enable freedom of manoeuvre and to achieve military objectives." This term applies to activities that include those conducted in war or conflict.

Department for Work and Pensions

Formaldehyde

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what controls arising from health considerations are placed on manufacturers on the use of formaldehyde.

Justin Tomlinson: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has responsibility for the regulation of workplace health and safety in the UK, and it is the legal duty of those who create risks through work activities to understand those risks and ensure they are adequately controlled. This includes ensuring that duty holders/employers identify and obtain relevant information on the hazardous properties of the substances or materials they use or manufacture.The Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals Regulation (REACH) requires those who place chemicals such as formaldehyde on the market to provide information on the hazards associated with the chemical both up and down the supply chain. This includes the provision of Safety Data Sheets which must accompany chemicals through the supply chain, providing the information users need to ensure that chemicals are safely used and managed.The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) also applies in the workplace when hazardous substances, such as formaldehyde, are manufactured, used, or where processes are undertaken that generate hazardous substances. COSHH requires the employer to carry out a risk assessment to establish what, if any, risks to health are associated with the products/processes their employees are using/undertaking and then to put in place measures to eliminate or control exposure to those risks.

Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average cost to the public purse was of a work capability assessment case that ended in appeal from the beginning of the assessment process to the outcome and implementation of the appeal in each of the last three years.

Priti Patel: The information requested is not available.

Employment

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 14 March 2016, Official Report, on unemployment, if he will publish the Government's employer engagement strategy referred to in that Answer.

Priti Patel: In December 2015 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published ‘English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision’, which sets out how government will engage with employers and increase the quality and quantity of apprenticeships, achieving three million new starts by 2020. This is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-in-england-vision-for-2020A new approach to working with employers is in development. This is a new engagement strategy and is an internal work plan. We have no plans to publish it at this time. The strategy aims to ensure that we engage with the right employers in the right sectors in the most productive ways.

Universal Credit

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his contribution of 14 March 2016, HC Deb, column 640, how many people he expects to be migrated on to universal credit by 2020.

Priti Patel: We do not issue forecasts of these volumes. The number of claimants who will migrate onto universal credit will vary according to a number of factors, such as the economic climate. Even if this data was published, such forecasts will change over time.

Universal Credit: Young People

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will ensure that his proposals to limit 18 to 21 year olds' access to the housing element of universal credit take into account all the reasons young people may need support with their housing costs.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department has committed to supporting young people so those who need support with housing costs continue to receive it. The Department is currently consulting with stakeholders to identify these groups and allow us to develop suitable protections. Once this work is complete we will bring forward detailed proposals.

Housing Benefit: Shared Housing

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the way in which the shared accommodation rate is calculated to mitigate the effect of the housing benefit cap in the social sector.

Justin Tomlinson: There are no current plans to review how the shared accommodation rate is calculated within the Local Housing Allowance scheme.For those under 35, not in supported housing, the existing exemptions that already apply to the shared accommodation rate for private rented sector tenants will be applied to the social sector as a minimum. In addition, for those in supported housing, we are working closely with the supported housing sector to ensure appropriate protections are in place. For this reason we are awaiting the outcome of a Support Accommodation research project and subsequent policy review, to ensure support is focused on the most vulnerable, and appropriate safeguards are in place. In addition, an enhanced package of Discretionary Housing Payment funding (£870 million over 5 years) will enable Local Authorities to provide support to the most vulnerable claimants.

Housing Benefit: Homelessness

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures he is taking to mitigate the effect of the housing benefit cap in the social sector on homeless people or those at risk of homelessness.

Justin Tomlinson: We announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 1 March 2016 that a year-long exception would apply for all tenants of supported accommodation in the social rented sector as we await the outcome of our review of the supported housing sector. This means the measure will only apply to these tenancies from April 2017 rather than April 2016, which would include accommodation for homeless provision.  We value the work of the supported housing sector and are working closely with them to ensure that they are supported as effectively as possible, which is why we are awaiting the outcome of a Supported Accommodation research project and subsequent policy review, to ensure support is focused on the most vulnerable, and appropriate groups are safeguarded.  In addition, an enhanced package of Discretionary Housing Payment funding (£870 million over 5 years) will enable Local Authorities to provide support to the most vulnerable claimants.

Personal Independence Payment: Disability Aids

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 86 of the Budget 2016, how many people in each (a) region and constituent part of the UK and (b) parliamentary constituency will be affected by changes to personal independence payments: aids and appliances.

Justin Tomlinson: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead. We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to help the welfare system work better with the health and social care systems and provide help and support to those who need it most.

Department for Work and Pensions: Recruitment

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will break down the £22 million spent by his Department on recruiting presenting officers to support his Department in personal independent payment and employment and support allowance tribunals.

Justin Tomlinson: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



The vast majority of the £22m, which will be spent over three years, will be used for Presenting Officer salary costs, with a small proportion for Learning and Development, communications and start up project costs.

Department for Work and Pensions: Tribunals

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many appeal hearings at the (a) First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) and (b) Upper Tribunal (Administrative Chamber) his Department did not send a representative to in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Justin Tomlinson: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



The department’s policy has been to focus its resources on sending Presenting Officers to the more complex benefit cases and when directed by the tribunal therefore the department sent a representative to all Upper Tribunal appeal hearings notified to them in the three years 2012-13; 2013-14 and 2014-15. For the First-Tier Tribunal, POs did not attend as follows: 2012/13 238,210 (of 252,992 hearings) 2013/14 293,713 (of 308,502 hearings) 2014/15 78,301 (of 89,689 hearings)

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which is the first year in which he expects welfare spending to be contained within the welfare cap.

Priti Patel: The Government believes it is right to monitor welfare spending carefully. We will review the level of the Welfare Cap at the Autumn Statement, which is when the Office for Budget Responsibility will formally assess spending against the Welfare Cap.

Personal Independence Payment: Disability Aids

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, further to the Government response to the consultation on aids and appliances and the daily living component of personal independence payment, Cm 9194, what modelling his Department undertook to assess how the changes proposed in that consultation will affect existing claimants.

Justin Tomlinson: As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead. We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of care leavers in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or employment and support allowance had a sanction applied in each year from 2010 to 2015.

Priti Patel: The information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have had their motability cars withdrawn due to changes in disability benefits in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department does not hold this information. Motability is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the administration of the Motability scheme, including collating its own management information and client statistics. Whilst the Department meets regularly with Motability to discuss scheme performance, questions relating to the details of the scheme’s operation should be directed to Motability itself. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) began replacing Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for claimants of working age in April 2013. We recognise that the transition from Disability Living Allowance to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be challenging for individuals, which is why the Department worked closely with Motability as we developed our plans for the introduction of PIP. The Motability charity provides a one-off package of transitional support and advice to support customers who no longer meet the eligibility criteria for the Motability scheme. For most of these customers who entered into their first lease agreement with Motability before January 2013, Motability will provide transitional support of £2,000. This will enable many former Scheme customers to continue to meet their mobility needs by purchasing a used car. For customers who entered into their first lease agreement with the scheme after January 2013 and up to December 2013, Motability will supply transitional support of £1,000 to assist with mobility costs. Motability is also providing help with the cost of adaptations made to non-scheme vehicles and information on non-scheme motoring and insurance. The Scheme also offers customers an opportunity to purchase their vehicle after the end of the lease.

Personal Independence Payment

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been paid in personal independence payments to (a) UK and (b) non-UK citizens in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has been available in Great Britain since April 2013 and will be introduced in Northern Ireland later this year. A person’s nationality is not a consideration when assessing entitlement to PIP; rather it is whether they have a right to reside in Great Britain and whether they have met the presence conditions which are material. Information on the amount of PIP paid to UK and non-UK citizens is not available. Information on benefit expenditure as is available is published on Gov.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Litter: Departmental Coordination

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what cross-departmental working groups or structures are in place in respect of (a) litter policy and (b) marine litter at (i) official and (ii) ministerial level.

Rory Stewart: Defra and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) are working in partnership to develop a National Litter Strategy. To help us, we have set up a Litter Strategy Advisory Group which includes representatives from local government, campaign groups and independent experts, as well as the packaging and fast-food industries. Other relevant Departments, such as Department for Transport, Department of Health, Home Office or Ministry of Justice will attend the Advisory Group as appropriate. Ministers from both Defra and DCLG attended an initial meeting of key stakeholders with an interest in this issue and are taking an active interest in the work of the Group. Officials from Defra and DCLG are of course in close contact on litter policy. The National Litter Strategy will complement existing work including actions to address litter in the marine environment. It will promote concerted, co-ordinated and effective actions to reduce litter and littering on land, which in turn should lead to a reduction in the amount of litter reaching the marine environment. The UK’s Marine Strategy sets out the actions we are taking to improve the marine environment, including what we are doing to tackle marine litter. The Strategy is approved by the Government and the Devolved Administrations. At an official level, development of the Strategy is overseen by a steering group made up of relevant officials from Defra, Defra Group partners and other relevant Government Departments. This is supported by our Clean and Safe Seas Evidence Group that includes a specific sub-group on marine litter. In addition, given the trans-boundary nature of marine litter, we work closely with other countries sharing our seas through an EU-level Technical Group on Marine Litter and an Oslo and Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR) group on marine litter.

Dogs: Imports

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were imported into Northern Ireland for (a) non-commercial reasons under the PETS scheme and (b) commercial reasons in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the countries of origin of those dogs were in each category.

George Eustice: The movement of dogs into the United Kingdom, whether through the Pet Travel Scheme or for commercial reasons is a devolved matter. The Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland has suggested that the Honourable Member write to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Northern Ireland Executive.

National Flood Resilience Review

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the National Flood Resilience Review will assess the (a) maintenance requirements of flood assets and (b) capacity of the Environment Agency to maintain flood defences.

Rory Stewart: The National Flood Resilience Review is not assessing the maintenance requirements of flood assets or the capacity of the Environment Agency to maintain flood defences. The terms of reference for the Review were published on 26 January 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-flood-resilience-review-government-action-to-tackle-floods.

National Flood Resilience Review

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the National Flood Resilience Review team has made on assessing the damage that extreme rainfall could cause across England.

Rory Stewart: The National Flood Resilience Review led by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is making good progress with gathering evidence and stress-testing our resilience to flood risk. Our call for evidence closed on 4 March and we are now reviewing the 66 responses received.

Food: Imports

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the net value was of food imports from Africa in the last 10 years.

George Eustice: The following table shows the net value (imports minus exports) of food imports from Africa, for the last ten years, according to HMRC trade statistics[1]:£'millionYearTotal ExportsTotal ImportsNet Imports2006173.51,200.71,027.12007168.51,260.71,092.22008263.61,428.61,165.02009259.21,506.21,247.12010372.11,419.71,047.72011375.01,497.61,122.62012430.01,419.9990.02013502.91,565.51,062.62014594.61,467.5872.92015448.71,307.9859.2Total trade3,588.114,074.310,486.2   [1]Source: HM Revenue and CustomsData prepared by the Food & Trade Statistics team, Great British Food Unit, Defra2015 data are subject to amendments

Food: Imports

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the net value was of food imports from the EU in the last 10 years.

George Eustice: The following table shows the net value (imports minus exports) of food imports from EU countries, for the last ten years, according to HMRC trade statistics[1]:£'millionYearTotal ExportsTotal ImportsNet Imports20066,849.614,293.27,443.620076,761.914,250.47,488.520087,401.814,534.37,132.520097,724.513,888.66,164.220108,265.314,311.86,046.620117,319.914,638.17,318.220126,085.516,498.510,412.920135,837.419,021.013,183.720146,422.617,354.310,931.720157,560.618,065.610,504.9Total trade70,229.1156,855.986,626.8 [1]Source: HM Revenue and CustomsData prepared by the Food & Trade Statistics team, Great British Food Unit, Defra2015 data are subject to amendments

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment she has made of which of her Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

George Eustice: The Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly. The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

Flood Control: Lancashire

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to facilitate an application from Lancaster City Council and the Environment Agency for funding for flood defences along the River Lune.

Rory Stewart: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 March to PQ UIN 29688.

Sheep Dipping

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on the issues raised by the Sheep Dip Sufferers Support Group at the meeting of 19 November 2015 relating to (a) organophosphate sheep dip and (b) missing medical records from 1992; and if she will send the minutes of that meeting to the Sheep Dip Sufferers Support Group.

George Eustice: Defra officials have been investigating this issue since the meeting in November and are in the process of finalising the information mentioned above for the Sheep Dip Sufferers Group. This is expected to be completed and released shortly. The information will answer the actions from the meeting and include news releases from MAFF and the Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) from 1992 and 1993. These explain why the decision was taken to end compulsory dipping and the conclusions of the VPC reviews of organophosphate sheep dips at the time. A note of agreed actions from the meeting will be provided along with the information above.

Home Office

HM Passport Office: Closures

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what public consultation there has been on the proposed closure of 15 HM Passport Office interview offices.

Karen Bradley: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 22 February 2016.The correct answer should have been:

Under the planned changes to HM Passport Offices the vast majority of passport application interviewees will see no change to their travel time. In a small number of cases passport application interviewees will have to travel further but this should not be more than 65 miles or one and a half hours from their previous closest office. no customer will need to travel for more than either one and a half hours or 65 miles and the vast majority of passport application interviewees will see no change to their travel time. The decision to deliver greater value for money by reducing surplus capacity for interviews was clear, therefore public consultation on the changes was not applicable.

Karen Bradley: Under the planned changes to HM Passport Offices the vast majority of passport application interviewees will see no change to their travel time. In a small number of cases passport application interviewees will have to travel further but this should not be more than 65 miles or one and a half hours from their previous closest office. no customer will need to travel for more than either one and a half hours or 65 miles and the vast majority of passport application interviewees will see no change to their travel time. The decision to deliver greater value for money by reducing surplus capacity for interviews was clear, therefore public consultation on the changes was not applicable.

Undocumented Workers

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employers were successfully (a) prosecuted and (b) fined for employing an illegal immigrant in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



The information requested is shown in the attached tables.Table 1 sets out the number of defendants found guilty at all courts for offences related to employment of illegal immigrants in England and Wales between 2010 and 2014. Court proceedings data for 2015 is planned for publication in May 2016.Table 2 sets out the number of civil penalties issued to individual employers during each of the last five complete financial years and the current financial year up to and including 29th February 2016.



1. defendants 2. civil penalties
(Excel SpreadSheet, 11.5 KB)

Undocumented Workers

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force staff have been assigned to tackle employers of illegal immigrants in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



Border Force is a law enforcement command within the Home Office which secures the UK border by carrying out immigration and customs controls for people and goods entering the UK. Tackling employers of illegal migrants is dealt with by Immigration Enforcement which is responsible for preventing abuse, tracking immigration offenders and increasing compliance with immigration law.In the event that an employer is found to have employed an illegal worker, they may be subject to a civil penalty of up to £20,000 per illegal worker unless they have undertaken the prescribed document checks. In the last five years Immigration Enforcement has issued over nine thousand civil penalties to the value of £110 million.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many HM Courts and Tribunals Service decisions have gone against her Department in each of the last six months; and how many such decisions in each of those months have not been implemented.

James Brokenshire: The latest set of published statistics regarding how many HM Courts and Tribunals Service decisions have gone against the Secretary of State for the Home Department is available online from HM Courts and Tribunals Service.The figures requested relating to decisions implemented are not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many replies her Department sent to hon. Members which explain that, due to an administrative error or due to an unfortunate error they have not yet implemented a HM Courts and Tribunals Services decision in the last two years.

James Brokenshire: It is not possible to provide the Hon. Member with the information requested as it is not readily available or held centrally and can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Visas

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to introduce mandatory reconsideration for visa applications where a significant change in circumstances occur following an application decision.

James Brokenshire: Every application is decided in accordance with the Immigration Rules based on the information provided by an applicant at the time of application. If the applicant’s circumstances change, a fresh application can be made at any stage but this must be treated as a new application as it will contain new information not previously considered.

Passports: Interviews

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional funding will be provided to HM Passport Office for the development of new technology for remote interview sites after the proposed closure of 15 HM Passport Office interview offices.

James Brokenshire: Her Majesty’s Passport office currently offers passport application interviews via secure link from 25 locations. From May 2016 there will be an additional five locations offering video interviews.The cost of establishing video interview services at these additional five locations is estimated to be £15,000 per site. This cost will be met by our existing budget with no additional funding required.

Passports: Interviews

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of interviews for a first-time adult passport application was conducted on a face-to-face basis in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales.

James Brokenshire: In 2015, Her Majesty’s Passport Office interviewed 222,264 adult customers applying for their first passport. Of these 218,742 (98.41%) were face-to-face interviews in person. The remainder were carried out using our Video Interview Service, typically used in the more remote parts of the country. The interview is undertaken by Her Majesty’s Passport Office staff over a video link, and the customer is accompanied at all times by one of our partner organisations.This is broken down by country to:England: 189,252 (99.99%) in person interviewsNorthern Ireland: 3,965 (100%) in person interviewsScotland: 15,496 (85.83%) in person interviewsWales: 10,029 (91.24%) in person interviews

UK Border Force: Patrol Craft

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many days there have been (a) five, (b) four, (c) three, (d) two, (e) one and (f) zero Border Force Cutters conducting active patrols in UK territorial waters in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



Border Force does not record individual vessel patrols as this does not represent the full activity of a Border Force vessel. Border Force vessels operate 365 days per year and have maintained a three cutter capability in UK waters throughout the last 12 months.

Electronic Surveillance

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to clause 96 of the Investigatory Powers Bill, whether Immigration Officers carried out equipment interference before 1 March 2016.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



Immigration officers have had the power to carry out property interference, including interference with equipment, since 2013 through an amendment to the Police Act 1997.They may only use the power to investigate and prevent serious crime which relates to an immigration or nationality offence and have done so since 2013. The Bill maintains this position whilst strengthening safeguards and oversight.

Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre: GEO Group UK

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether GEO received full payment for its contracted services to run Harmondsworth Removal Centre for each year of that contract.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has pursued legal action against GEO for its performance in managing Harmondsworth Removal Centre in 2013 and 2015.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has not pursued legal action against GEO for its performance in managing Harmondsworth immigration removal centre (IRC). Under the terms of the contract signed on 20th January 2009, deductions were made from payments to GEO for performance-related service credits and dilapidation costs.

EU Countries: Nationality

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on the introduction of citizenship by investment schemes by EU member states.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for the UK of the introduction of citizenship by investment schemes by EU member states; and what steps she has taken to increase transparency in that area.

James Brokenshire: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave on 9 March to Question 29833 from the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter) and to Question 29873 from the hon. Member for Rochester and Strood (Kelly Tolhurst).

Police: Cyprus

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department provided to the Sovereign Base Area police force in Cyprus for the investigation of serious crimes.

James Brokenshire: The ACRO Criminal Records Office, which operates the UK Central Authority for the international Exchange of Criminal Records, has signed an information sharing agreement with the Sovereign Base Area of Cyprus. This allows for the exchange of criminal records, including access to UK criminal records for the purposes of checking the records of those arrested in the Sovereign Base Area.

Immigration Controls: EU Nationals

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to amend the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 to require nationals from other EU member states exercising their free movement right to register.

James Brokenshire: There are currently no plans to amend the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations to introduce a mandatory registration system for EU nationals.

Undocumented Migrants: Offenders

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in immigration detention of each nationality have been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK.

James Brokenshire: As of December 2015 there were 1,274 foreign national offenders in immigration detention.The Home Office does not provide nationality specific data. The data is withheld where disclosure would be likely to prejudice diplomatic relations between the UK and a foreign government and where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the operation of immigration control.Caveats(1) The figures quoted have been derived from management information from the Home Office databases and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.(2) A Foreign National Offender (FNO) is defined as an individual with a criminal case on the Home Office's Case Information Database, and may include individuals with asylum cases.(3) Figures relate to main applicants only and are a snapshot of cases as at the end of December 2015 taken from the Case Information Database (CID).

Deportation: EU Nationals

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has instructed the deportation of any nationals of other EU member states on public protection grounds in each of the last five years.

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nationals of other EU member states who have served custodial sentences have been deported back to their country of nationality at the end of their sentence.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office seeks to deport EEA nationals or their family members on grounds of public policy or public security where that person’s conduct repre-sents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society.The table below shows the number of EEA nationals deported on the basis of a criminal conviction, where their presence in the UK is not considered conducive to the public good. Year EEA FNO Removals (1)(2)(3)2011/121,2752012/131,7272013/142,3062014/153,0262015/16 (up to end of Q3)2,584(1) A Foreign National Offender (FNO) is defined as an individual with a criminal case on the Home Office's Case Information Database, and may include individuals with asylum cases.(2) Quarterly Foreign National Offender (FNO) removals are published as National Statistics and available in table 7 of latest the published "Immigration Statistics release" https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2015(3) Total FNO removals figures relate to those cases that have been deported, administratively removed or voluntarily departed from UK.

Passports: Interviews

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26844, whether the maximum customer travel of one and a half hours or 65 miles for an interview for a passport application refers to a one-way journey or round trip.

James Brokenshire: Please accept my apologies for an error which was made in the response to question 26844.Under the planned changes to HM Passport Offices the vast majority of passport application interviewees will see no change to their travel time. In a small number of cases passport application interviewees will have to travel further but this should not be more than 65 miles or one and a half hours additional one-way travel from their previous closest office.

Migrant Workers

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrant workers have entered the UK on a non-EU Tier 2 migrant visa since 2010 (a) in total and (b) to work in each sector.

James Brokenshire: The latest available published data show 225,040 passengers were given leave to enter the United Kingdom under Tier 2 in the period January 2010 to June 2015 (excluding dependants).The available published information regarding Tier 2 by industry type relates to Certificates of Sponsorship used in Tier 2 (Skilled work) visa applications. These data will differ from passengers given leave to enter because applicants may be unsuccessful or decide not to travel. The table below shows the total number of Tier 2 Certificates of Sponsorship used in visa applications, by industry type, in the period January 2010 to June 2015.Applicants for visas for skilled work (Tier 2) using sponsorship certificates, by industry type IndustryJanuary 2010 to June 2015Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing285Mining and Quarrying4,393Manufacturing13,141Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply761Water Supply; Sewerage, Waste Management etc.160Construction of buildings2,409Wholesale and Retail Trade; Vehicle Repairs3,341Transportation and Storage1,870Accommodation and Food Service Activities4,523Information and Communication106,539Financial and Insurance Activities32,335Real estate activities354Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities45,437Administrative and Support Activities2,495Public administration and defence; compulsory social security551Education11,450Human Health and Social Work Activities12,937Arts, Entertainment and Recreation3,592Other Service Activities5,447Activities of households as employers etc.33Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies53Total252,106Source:Immigration Statistics October to December 2015, Home Office, table cs_03_q. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/502033/sponsorship-q4-2015-tabs.ods

ICT: Skilled Workers

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 6.158 of the Migration Advisory Committee's review of Tier 2 migration, published in December 2015, if she will commission an in-depth review of skills shortages in the IT industry.

James Brokenshire: The Government thanks the Migration Advisory Committee for their report and we are currently considering the findings carefully. We will announce our response in due course.

Passports: Interviews

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average travel time is for customers attending a first-time passport application interview; and what she estimates the average travel times will be after the proposed closure of interview offices in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England.

James Brokenshire: HM Passport Office does not collate any information on average travel times for applicants.In 2015, HM Passport Office interviewed 222,264 adult customers applying for their first passport. Under the planned changes to HM Passport Offices the vast majority of passport application interviewees will see no change to their travel time. In a small number of cases passport application interviewees will have to travel further but this should not be more than 65 miles or one and a half hours from their previous closest office.

Refugee Camps: Calais

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her French counterpart on French authorities' use of tear gas in the refugee camp in Calais.

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her French counterpart on that country's current policy of dismantling the refugee camp in Calais.

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her French counterpart on steps to resettle people who have been displaced by the dismantling of sections of the refugee camp in Calais.

James Brokenshire: The UK Government is in regular contact with French counterparts on the migrant situation in Calais.Steps taken by French authorities to clear sections of the migrant camp in Calais are consistent with the shared strategy to encourage those in need of protection to claim asylum in France and to return those not in need to their home country. The French Government, with support from the UK, has made huge efforts to provide decent accommodation in France for all those that need it, including for women and children.

Refugees: Calais

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to relax the Government's position on the settlement of refugees in Calais to allow the settlement of unaccompanied children in the UK.

James Brokenshire: Individuals in France in need of international protection should claim asylum there in line with established EU and international principles. Once asylum has been claimed in France or in any other European country participating in the Dublin Regulation the UK will uphold all obligations to consider requests to take charge of an application on the grounds of family unity. Asylum must be claimed in France to begin this process and we have no plans to change our position on this.The UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August has committed our two governments to establishing a permanent official contact group focused on ensuring that the efficient and effective use of the Dublin Regulation, including the provisions on family unity.A senior Home Office official has been seconded to the Interior Ministry’s Dublin Unit in Paris in part to assist with the identification of potential requests for the UK to take charge of asylum seeking children in France and to bring them into the Dublin Regulation procedure without delay.

Human Trafficking: Females

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women referred to the National Referral Mechanism for trafficking victims were subsequently removed from the UK in each year since 2012.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Human Trafficking: Albania

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Albanian women were referred to the National Referral Mechanism in each year since 2012.

Karen Bradley: The following table shows the number of referrals that were made for Albanian Females since 2012:Female (exploited as)2012201320142015Adult102213317376Child13213438Total115234351414

Fire Services: Floods

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of incorporating flood rescue into the statutory duties of the fire and rescue services.

Mike Penning: The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 already set out clearly the roles and powers of fire and rescue authorities in respect of emergency response and rescue in a wide range of situations, including flooding.Fire and rescue authorities are required to produce Integrated Risk Management Plans which identify the full range of risks to which an authority’s service is expected to respond, and these plans are subject to consultation with local communities. This approach is enshrined in the National Fire Framework which was given statutory effect in August 2012.

Visas

Ruth Smeeth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is a limit on the number of Tier 2 (ICT) visas a company can apply for each year.

James Brokenshire: A Tier 2 (Intra company transfer) certificate of sponsorship (CoS) issued by a Tier 2 (ICT) licensed company is required for a migrant worker to be granted a Tier 2 (ICT) visa. There is no limit to the number of Tier 2 (ICT) CoS that a company can apply for each year. When applying for a sponsor licence the company must tell UKVI how many CoS they may need to the end of the financial year and justify why they need them.Licensed companies with a proven history of compliance are automatically allocated the same number of CoS they used in the previous financial year. All other sponsors must request CoS each financial year and justify why they are needed. Additional CoS can be requested at any time by all licensed sponsors.

Visas

Ruth Smeeth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what examination of job roles her Department undertakes when issuing Tier 2 (ICT) visas.

James Brokenshire: Each application for a Tier 2 (ICT) visa must be accompanied by a certificate of sponsorship (COS) issued by the applicant’s sponsor. The COS will set out the job description and the job role the applicant is required to perform, as well as the salary they will be paid and the hours of work they will undertake. The Secretary of State will examine the information on the COS against the codes of practice for skilled workers to ensure the criteria under the Tier 2 (ICT) arrangements are met. The codes of practice set out the relevant skill level and minimum rates of pay that apply to any job.The Secretary of State may also consider whether the application meets the genuine vacancy requirements set out in the Immigration Rules. This assessment is to satisfy that the information in the certificate of sponsorship has not been tailored specifically to meet the requirements of the Tier 2 criteria.Entry Clearance Officers within visa sections overseas also have the discretion to conduct additional assessments should they have concerns about specific sponsors. Further compliance checks are carried out after the visa has been issued during compliance visits to ensure roles are genuine and meet the appropriate skill level for sponsorship. Compliance officers routinely assess the credibility of the job roles and collect evidence that the duties of sponsored migrants are in accordance with those stated by the sponsor in the certificates of sponsorship.

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30235, in how many instances the Kingfisher Unit was used under rule (a) 40 and (b) 42 of the Detention Centre Rules in 2015.

James Brokenshire: The use of Kingfisher Unit at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre for individuals removed from general association is managed in accordance with Rules 40 (removed from association) and 42 (temporary confinement) of the Detention Centre Rules 2001.For the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015 provisional management information from the service provider, Serco, indicates that the Kingfisher Unit was used on 91 occasions for Rule 40 and 18 occasions for Rule 42. Removal from association under these rules is limited to as short a time as possible.

Migrant Workers: Nurses

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what advice her Department has received from the Migration Advisory Committee on whether nurses should remain in the occupation shortfall list; and when she next plans to issue a revised list.

James Brokenshire: The Migration Advisory Committee will publish its report on nurses shortly. The Government will announce its response once the report is published.

Motor Vehicles: Smoking

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fixed penalty notices police forces have issued related to smoking in vehicles with children in each of the last three years.

Mr John Hayes: Information on the number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued by police forces is not centrally collected.The police and local authorities are both enforcement authorities for offences related to smoking in private vehicles carrying children. Therefore in addition to police forces doing so, local authorities can also issue fixed penalty notices for these offences, and the police can pass information to local authorities to take enforcement action.The legislation came into effect in October 2015, so no FPNs for smoking in vehicles with children would have been issued before this period.

HM Treasury

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data the Government used during the recent EU renegotiation process to assess the effect of its policy (a) to restrict the payment of child benefit to EU nationals resident in the UK in respect of their children resident outside the UK and (b) to restrict entitlement of some EU nationals to tax credits.

Damian Hinds: I refer my honourable friend to recent UK White Paper ‘The Best of Both Worlds: the United Kingdom’s special status in a reformed European Union’:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-best-of-both-worlds-the-united-kingdoms-special-status-in-a-reformed-european-union

National Insurance Contributions: Actors

Richard Burden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of his proposals to abolish Class 2 National Insurance contributions on low-earning theatre actors and workers.

Mr David Gauke: The Chancellor announced at Budget that Class 2 National Insurance contributions will be abolished in April 2018. This will simplify the outdated and complex self-employed National Insurance system, giving self-employed NICs payers an annual tax cut of £134 on average. This will benefit 3.4 million self-employed people – including those who work in the theatre.

Monuments: VAT

Dan Jarvis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to exempt the proposed Oaks Colliery Memorial from the requirement to pay VAT on its construction and installation.

Mr David Gauke: While there are no VAT reliefs for the construction of memorials, the Government operates a grant refund scheme for refunding some or all of the VAT costs involved in the construction, repair and maintenance of certain memorials. Further details of the scheme and application for a refund should be made to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department received from the European Social Fund between (a) 2007 and 2014 and (b) 2014 and the last month for which data is available.

Mr David Gauke: HM Treasury does not receive any UK funding from this programme, which is instead administered by other government departments.

Child Benefit: Fraud

Philip Davies: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many foreign nationals living in the UK have been (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted for a fraudulent child benefit claim for a child living in the EU in each of the last five years.

Damian Hinds: I refer my honourable friend to my response of 14 March 2016 (UIN 27517). http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-02-19/27517/27517

Debts: Developing Countries

Patrick Grady: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion 68, Prevention of debt crisis in developing countries.

Greg Hands: The Government agrees that the maintenance of sustainable debt levels is a critical factor for achieving poverty reduction. The UK has provided more than £5 billion in debt relief since 1996 under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiatives, and will continue to promote debt sustainability internationally. The Government is also committed to supporting developing countries to access their domestic tax revenues through our efforts in driving the G20-OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project and our commitment to funding tax capacity building in developing countries bilaterally and multilaterally - including through the direct provision of technical assistance by the UK to tackle tax avoidance.

Sugar: Taxation

Alison Thewliss: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 33 of the Budget 2016, whether flavoured milks will be exempt from the sugar levy.

Mr David Gauke: Milk-based drinks, including flavoured milks, are not in scope of the levy. Milk contains calcium and other nutrients which are vital to children’s health.

Non-domestic Rates

Helen Goodman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish a geographical analysis of the distribution of properties by rateable value.

Mr David Gauke: The number of rateable properties and rateable value by administrative area as at 31 March 2015 can be found in table CL1 in the latest non-domestic rating stock of properties publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-stock-of-properties. The next update to this release will be available in September 2016 for figures up to 31 March 2016.

Sugar: Taxation

Alison Thewliss: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.157 of Budget 2016, whether he plans for premixed alcoholic drinks to fall within the scope of the proposed sugar tax.

Mr David Gauke: The soft drinks industry levy applies to soft drinks with added sugar and total alcoholic content below 0.5% ABV, which can be purchased by children.

Government Departments: Cheques

Andrew Gwynne: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cheques have been drafted by government departments and executive agencies in each year since 2010.

Harriett Baldwin: HM Treasury does not hold this information. Each government department and executive agency will hold this information for their own bank accounts. Public sector organisations should follow guidelines set out in “Managing Public Money”. The key points within these guidelines are that public sector organisations should generally use the cheapest, safest and quickest means of moving public funds, depending on the context, and a hierarchy of money transmission services is provided.

Bank of Credit and Commerce International

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what independent inspectors were appointed to investigate the frauds at the Bank of Credit and Commerce International; when those inspectors reported; and when their reports were published.

Harriett Baldwin: Following the failure of Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) on 5 July 1991, Lord Justice Bingham was asked by the then Chancellor and Governor of the Bank of England (BoE) to inquire into the supervision of BCCI under the Banking Act.The Bingham report was published through parliament in 1992 and is available in the public domain. An electronic copy is available on the Government website. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/235718/0198.pdf The Sandstorm Report, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and passed to the BoE on 22 June 1991, was released in 2011 and is now in the public domain.

Individual Savings Accounts

Helen Goodman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people he assumed would use the Lifetime ISA in order to estimate the cost to the Exchequer of that policy.

Harriett Baldwin: The Lifetime ISA is a voluntary product. For further information on the costing of this policy, please see page 9 of the Budget 2015 Policy Costings document: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508147/PU1912_Policy_Costings_FINAL3.pdf

Members: Correspondence

Mr David Winnick: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will arrange for HM Revenue and Customs to acknowledge or reply to the letter of 24 February 2016 from the hon. Member for Walsall North concerning a constituent.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 14 March 2016.

Bitcoin: Databases

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what planning his Department is undertaking to facilitate private sector investment in the scalability of the proofs-of-work aspects of blockchain technology; and what discussions he has had with the Bank of England on that topic.

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what planning his Department is undertaking in relation to the effect of crypto-currencies on traditional banking models.

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what planning his Department is undertaking on the collation of block chain data; and what discussions he has had with the Bank of England on that topic.

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to implement the University College London RSCoin proposal.

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Bank of England on utilising the University College London RSCoin proposal as an alternative to Western Union, CHAPS, BACS and the Faster Payment Service.

Harriett Baldwin: Digital currencies, and the distributed ledger technology that underpins them, have the potential to bring innovative services and products to UK customers and firms – particularly in areas like international transfers. The Chancellor announced in March 2015 that the Government will bring digital currency exchange firms into regulation in the UK to help the legitimate industry flourish, and to create a hostile environment for illicit actors. We will publish proposals on this regulatory regime in due course. As outlined in Deputy Governor, Ben Broadbent’s recent speech, the Bank of England is also exploring this emerging sector and the implications it could have for monetary and financial stability as part of its broader research agenda. Separately, academics at University College London’s (UCL) digital currency research centre have also been looking at how the distributed ledger technology that underpins digital currencies could be harnessed by central banks. The Government is encouraged to see this research from one of the UK’s world-leading universities. However, this a theoretical paper by an independent institution, separate from the Bank of England’s work and from Government policy. It is the Government’s ambition to foster the growth of legitimate digital currency firms as part of the wider FinTech ecosystem here in the UK. As part of this, the Government will consider the wider implications of a growing digital currencies sector for the financial services sector and the economy as a whole. Some parts of Government are also looking at how the benefits of distributed ledger technology can be harnessed to deliver greater innovation. However, the Government and the Bank of England do not currently have any plans to introduce a centrally issued digital currency. The UK has been rated as having the world’s leading FinTech ecosystem in a recent global benchmarking exercise and attracted c. £524mn in investment in 2015.

Public Sector: Pay

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the guidance note on public sector pay and terms published by his Department on 5 February 2016, whether he plans to place that guidance on a statutory footing; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: There are no current plans to place the guidance note on public sector pay and terms on a statutory footing. The note is a reminder of the rules that are in place and the Government’s expectations on public sector employers.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

North Sea Oil: Loans

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment she has made of the availability of bank loans for oil exploration companies which operate in the North Sea.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 21 March 2016



Banks must make commercial decisions with regard to lending. The Government’s clear view is that the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry has a bright future and will remain a significant and important industry and energy supplier for the UK. The Government’s confidence in the sector was underlined in the tax reform package outlined by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget , worth £1 billion. In the Budget, the Chancellor also announced that the government is willing to consider proposals for using the UK Guarantees scheme for infrastructure where it could help secure new investment in assets of strategic importance to maximising economic recovery of oil and gas. Any proposals would also need to meet the existing criteria of the scheme, including in relation to commerciality and financial credibility

Nuclear Power Stations:  Hartlepool and Heysham

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether Heysham and Hartlepool are being considered as sites for large nuclear or small modular reactors.

Andrea Leadsom: The Nuclear National Policy Statement, approved by Parliament in July 2011, identified eight potentially suitable sites for new nuclear power stations. The Government welcomes proposals for development at all eight sites. No proposals for development have so far been made for two of the sites – Heysham and Hartlepool. During the Budget, my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the launch of phase one of a competitive process to identify which Small Modular Reactor designs could feasibly be delivered in the UK. Government also made a commitment to publish an SMR delivery roadmap to clarify the UK’s plan for addressing SMR related siting, regulatory approvals and skills issues. The Government will address the issue of site identification for SMRs, but no potential sites or siting criteria have been identified at present.

Nuclear Power Stations

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when the techno-economic assessment of small modular reactors is expected to be completed and published.

Andrea Leadsom: The techno-economic assessment of small modular reactors does not conclude until the end of March at the earliest. We will then need to thoroughly review the reports. We will consider publishing at the appropriate point.

Nuclear Power Stations

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential of small modular reactors as a heat source.

Andrea Leadsom: The techno-economic assessment of small modular reactors, which is due to conclude at the end of March at the earliest, will consider applications for SMRs in the UK context including how they could operate within the energy system.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment she has made of which of her Department's agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Redundancy Pay

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30208, whether she plans to give Ministerial approval to relax the restrictions of the public sector exit cap on employees of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority who leave work after 1 October 2016.

Andrea Leadsom: The proposed public sector exit payment cap will apply to organisations classified as being within the public sector by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This includes the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s sites, which are funded by the UK taxpayer. It is envisaged that there will be discretion to relax conditions of the cap in exceptional circumstances, for example where there are genuine cases of hardship. This discretion, which would be considered on a case by case basis and which would be subject to Ministerial approval, will be provided for in the exit cap regulations.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Staff

Ian Lavery: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials of his Department are working on contingency planning for floods.

Mr Oliver Letwin: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the lead government department responsible for planning for and responding to flooding emergencies. The Cabinet Office’s role in contingency planning is to ensure coherent, robust, risk-based planning is undertaken across Government and that generic capabilities are in place to prepare for and respond to a range of emergencies, including flooding.Three officials in the Cabinet Office are currently spending a significant amount of their time contributing to the National Flood Resilience Review. Eight officials in the Civil Contingencies Secretariat work on the response to flooding as well as other emergencies.

Third Sector: Finance

Mr Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to launch a second phase of the local sustainability fund.

Mr Rob Wilson: The Local Sustainability Fund will support 265 small-to-medium sized organisations, providing vital services to vulnerable and disadvantage people, helping them to secure and enhance those services.Government is now planning and delivering further initiatives that will help small-to-medium sized voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to achieve their full potential. These include offering training to improving fundraising practice, growing the social investment market and ensuring strong leadership and governance.

Emergencies: Industrial Accidents

Ian Lavery: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government's policy is on contingency planning for potential major industrial accidents.

Mr Oliver Letwin: A robust statutory framework exists for contingency arrangements in the event of a major industrial accident. This focuses on both accident prevention and multi-agency contingency planning delivered through the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and legislation addressing specific industrial hazards, including the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 2015, the Pipeline Safety Regulations (PSR) 1996, and the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (PEPPIR) 2001. The CCA requires multi-agency partnerships to assess the risks associated with industrial accidents and to undertake suitable specific or generic contingency planning. COMAH, PSR and REPPIR require site operators, local authorities and others to ensure effective arrangements are in place to respond to the onsite and offsite consequences of major accidents and provide for warning and informing those who might be affected.

Government Departments: Publications

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost was of producing single departmental plans for each central government department.

Mr Oliver Letwin: All departments undertake business planning and performance management as part of business-as-usual to ensure the effective delivery of government. Single departmental plans have been introduced in this Parliament to be a common framework by which departments manage this business and the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury tracks progress against its commitments to the public.The production of plans is part of this routine business planning, rather than an additional activity at additional cost. By rationalising reporting, we expect the process to become more efficient as it embeds.

Civil Servants: Apprentices

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what projection he has made of the number of civil service apprenticeships that will be created in each department in each year until 2020.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Civil Servants: Apprentices

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what wage the Government plans to pay civil servant apprentices.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Peers: Per Capita Costs

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has made an assessment of the average cost of a working peer which includes expenses, salary, necessary equipment and office space.

John Penrose: The department has made no such assessment. The costs to which the hon. member refers are a matter for the House of Lords.Details of the House of Lords business plans, annual reports and accounts, and financial support for members can be found on the parliament.uk website.

Permanent Secretaries: Social Class

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many permanent secretaries are from a lower socio-economic background.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Broadcasting Programmes

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to respond to Ofcom's review of the Terms of Trade.

Mr Edward Vaizey: I am considering Ofcom’s report on the independent production sector regulations and will respond in due course.

Historic Buildings: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of his Department's spend on the refurbishment of Drapers' Hall, Coventry in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government announced a range of investments in arts projects across the country in the 2016 Budget. This included £1 million for the refurbishment of Drapers Hall in the 2017/18 financial year.

Broadband

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when his Department plans to publish the results of the consultation into a universal service obligation for superfast broadband.

Mr Edward Vaizey: In November 2015, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to introduce a broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Megabits per second (Mbps), no matter where they live. We intend to publish a consultation on our approach to introducing a broadband USO shortly, and will respond to that consultation in due course.

Arts

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the UK leaving the EU on arts and culture in the UK.

Mr Edward Vaizey: At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

Internet: Advertising

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, on what date his Department plans to host a round table on ad blocking; who he plans to invite to that event; and what outcomes he expects from that event.

Mr Edward Vaizey: There are currently plans to host a roundtable with representatives from all sides of the argument to discuss ad blocking in the coming weeks. Once we have heard their views, we will consider what role there is for Government.

Religious Buildings: Repairs and Maintenance

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many places of worship have received financial support from his Department for essential roof repairs since 2015.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Listed places of worship represent some of the nation’s finest heritage. Since 2015 DCMS has provided £30m of financial support to 502 places of worship across the UK for essential roof repairs. Applications opened for a further funding round of £25m in December 2015. Successful applicants will be announced in due course.

Public Libraries: WiFi

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's planned expenditure on wi-fi provision for public libraries is for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department's expenditure was on Wi-Fi provision for public libraries in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15 and (f) 2015-16 to date.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many public libraries have received funding from his Department to provide free wi-fi services since 2010.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Public libraries are funded and run by local authorities. However, the Government provided funding in 2015-16 which means that by March 2016, free WiFi will be available in 99% of public libraries in England. In total, 70 local authorities will have received funding of around £2.7 million to upgrade or install WiFi in 1017 public libraries. In addition, through the Government’s super connected cities programme, WiFi was previously installed in 288 libraries across 14 cities, UK-wide by the end of March 2015.

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Productivity

Royston Smith: To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to (a) improve the productivity of House staff and (b) promote the efficient use of the parliamentary estate.

Tom Brake: Over the last Parliament the productivity of the House was increased through a cost reduction programme which saved 17% in real terms by 2014/15 against the 2010/11 Administration (Resource) Estimate of £231 million and by expanding the number and range of services provided.The Executive Committee has instigated an efficiency review with a target of a 10% reduction of controllable resource spend over the life of this Parliament, which equates to £15.5m. One way this is to be achieved is by utilising the estate more effectively.Following the recommendations of the Committee on Governance of the House of Commons, a restructure of services and approach is being undertaken. This is focused not just on running costs but on achieving more effective project management, facilitating improved delivery of projects. The Commission is, with the House of Lords, also examining the opportunities for further joint working between the Houses.The House Service has a continuous improvement programme to review work processes and streamline ways of working to improve efficiency, quality of service and productivity. This includes better use of digital technology. In addition, the House People Strategy provides for a number of methods to enable staff to develop their capability and improve productivity. All staff are encouraged to review their job competence, using a diagnostic tool, to identify where their competence needs to improve. A learning programme offers all staff a range of opportunities to develop that competence. Our individual performance review process provides the means for individuals to work with their manager to ensure objectives are met and to improve their work performance. Finally staff are able to work flexibly to respond to the demands of the job.Plans to restore and renew the Palace of Westminster could create opportunities to make better and more productive use of space. The Commission awaits the report of the Joint Committee on the future of the Palace; the Northern Estate Programme will target the optimisation of the existing buildings within its scope: seeking to improve the efficiency of the estate overall, support new ways of working, reduce running costs, and improve access and security for Members and their staff.The current House of Commons accommodation policy states that House staff currently occupy buildings on the parliamentary estate primarily in open plan workspace to increase the capacity and flexibility of space and (where appropriate) promote better working. Workplace studies are routinely used when reviewing business requirements to ensure that available accommodation is optimised to support users in the most efficient manner feasible within the constraints of the existing buildings.The Houses’ Digital strategy aims to improve efficiency and effectiveness through the delivery of highly available, secure and easy to use technology. The technology will support flexible and mobile working which will contribute to better use of the Estate and Parliamentary resources more generally. For example the wider adoption of laptops to promote flexible working is currently under consideration.

Members: Correspondence

Royston Smith: To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to ensure that Members of Parliament are providing good value for money in communications to their constituents using franked House of Commons envelopes.

Tom Brake: Under the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament, Members are personally responsible and accountable for the way they use resources provided at public expense. The House of Commons provides each Member with prepaid envelopes and stationery up to a value of £9,000 a year. In addition, specific rules on prepaid envelopes, available via the Members’ Handbook, preclude their use for communications within Parliament, or for circulars or business, personal or party political purposes. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is responsible for enforcing the rules on the proper use of prepaid envelopes and stationery.

Money Laundering: EU Law

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate the House of Commons Commission has made of the number of senior House officials who will potentially fall under the provisions of the 4th EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849.

Tom Brake: The Commission has made no estimate of the numbers, if any, of senior House officials who might be held to fall within the definition of “politically exposed persons” for the purposes of the 4th EU Money Laundering Directive, nor would there be any reason for it to do so. Several senior House officials will themselves be aware of the provisions of the Directive as a result of their parliamentary work.

Department of Health

Hospitals: Yorkshire and the Humber

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average hospital waiting time was for NHS patients in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) Yorkshire and the Humber since 2010.

Jane Ellison: Holding answer received on 18 January 2016



The table attached shows average median waiting times in weeks to start consultant-led elective treatment for National Health Service commissioning organisations and regions which most closely match those requested.



Average median waiting times table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 27.6 KB)

Autism: Diagnosis

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average amount of time taken for an autism diagnosis was in (a) Leeds, (b) Yorkshire and (c) England in each of the last three years.

Alistair Burt: The information collected centrally about this is gathered as part of the Autism Self-Assessment Framework undertaken by Public Health England on behalf of the Department. This covers adults only and the first time this topic was included was 2013. In 2013 Leeds reported an average wait for referral to diagnostic services of 36 weeks. In 2014 Leeds reported that the average wait between referral and assessment in their autism diagnosis service was 14 weeks. In view of the informal nature of the data collection and the incompleteness of responses, we do not routinely produce data aggregated to regional or England level.

Ambulance Services: Lancashire

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average ambulance response times in East Lancashire were for (a) Red One and (b) Red Two emergencies in 2015.

Jane Ellison: The information is not available in the format requested. NHS England publishes the number of Category A Red One and Red Two calls responded to within the eight minute performance standard for these two categories.This data is published on a monthly basis at both an England national level and at individual ambulance trust level. East Lancashire is covered by North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The data for 2015 is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/- see interactive ambulance systems indicators time series to January 2016.

Kidney Diseases

Ben Howlett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the implications for his Department's policies on people with rare forms of kidney disease are of the report of the Rare Disease Forum, Delivering for patients with rare diseases: Implementing a strategy, published on 29 February 2016; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: The Department is committed to improving the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases for all patients, including those with rare forms of kidney disease through implementation of the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases, published in November 2013. The UK Forum report, Delivering for patients with rare diseases: Implementing a strategy, published on 29 February 2016 includes 51 specific commitments to improve the lives of all those affected with rare diseases. The measures focus on improving diagnosis and early intervention for patients affected by a rare disease. The UK Rare Disease Forum is working to ensure that specific commitments in the Strategy are embedded in policy development and implementation across the United Kingdom.

Health: Screening

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people waited six weeks or longer for a diagnostic test in Lancashire in 2015.

Jane Ellison: This information is not available in the format requested. However, NHS England publishes diagnostics waiting times and activity, including performance against the six week target, by clinical commissioning group (CCG) on a monthly basis. For 2014-15 and 2015-16 this can be found at the following links in the Monthly Diagnostics Commissioner data under the ‘CCG Summary’ tab: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/monthly-diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/monthly-diagnostics-data-2014-15/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/monthly-diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/monthly-diagnostics-data-2015-16/

Learning Disability: Nurses

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has plans to change the workforce requirements for learning disability nurses.

Ben Gummer: Health Education England (HEE) was established to deliver a better healthcare workforce for England and using all available data is accountable for ensuring that we have a National Health Service workforce in the right numbers, with the right skills, values and behaviours to respond to the current and future needs of patients. HEE has been working with Skills for Care, Skills for Health and national transforming care partners to deliver a comprehensive workforce strategy to transform services for people with a learning disability, autism and/or behaviour that challenges to make significant and lasting improvements to their care and lives. HEE has developed and made available a number of enabling tools and resources that can be utilised throughout Transforming Care Partnership including: ― a Learning Disability Skills and Competency Framework which adopts a competency based approach to workforce planning and development;― a series of role templates to support the development of community and enhanced community teams; and― HEE Learning Disability Expert Reference Group Chaired by Baroness Hollins is exploring the career framework opportunities within health and social care for the development of new roles and education and training pathway.

Learning Disability: Nurses

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many student training places there were in England for learning disability nursing in each of the last five years.

Ben Gummer: The following table shows the number of pre-registration learning disability nurse places that were available for each year since 2012/13.  Learning disability nursing2012/132013/142014/152015/162016/17Planned612628653664638 Source: multi professional education and training budget monitoring returns

Learning Disability: Nurses

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to encourage students to train as  learning disability nurses.

Ben Gummer: In January 2016 the Health Education England Learning Disability Programme supported Health Careers in a two-week Learning Disability Nursing promotion with a significant increase in web page and twitter activity.In February 2016 a learning disability leadership signposting page was launched and the campaign #inspiringleadersinLD will feature a series of short video clips of inspiring learning disability nurses in a variety of roles. It is anticipated this campaign will raise profile of a career in learning disability nursing amongst the current learning disability workforce.

Streptococcus

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2016 to Question 27968, what the opening and closing dates are for the public consultation of the UK National Screening Committee's review of group B streptococcus policy; and on what date the meeting at which a decision will be made is planned.

Ben Gummer: In December 2015 the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) commissioned an update review into antenatal screening for Group B Streptococcus (GBS) as per its published process. A public consultation is expected to be held in the autumn for a three month period. The UK NSC will then review the recommendation for GBS at the successive meeting. Specific dates will be announced in due course.

Cancer: Lancashire

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cancer patients in Lancashire started treatment within 62 days of an urgent referral from a GP in 2015.

Jane Ellison: Data on the number of patients that started first treatment for all cancers within 62 days of an urgent general practitioner referral in Lancashire clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in 2015 is published by NHS England on a monthly basis and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/02/Cancer-Waiting-Times-Provider-Time-Series-Q4-2008-09-to-Q3-2015-16-Provider-based-XLSX-1.6MB.xlsxThe relevant CCGs are as follows:- NHS Blackburn with Darwen CCG- NHS Blackpool CCG- NHS Chorley And South Ribble CCG- NHS East Lancashire CCG- NHS Fylde & Wyre CCG- NHS Greater Preston CCG- NHS Lancashire North CCG- NHS West Lancashire CCG

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2016 to Question 25758, how much of the £1.25 billion additional Government investment for children and young people's mental health services has been allocated to the Think Ahead scheme.

Alistair Burt: The Think Ahead scheme is not funded from the £1.25 billion additional Government investment for improving children and young people’s mental health. Think Ahead is a funded from a separate programme budget within the Quality and Workforce Group.

Counselling and Psychiatry

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which professional bodies provide accreditation for (a) counselling and (b) psychotherapy services for the NHS.

Alistair Burt: The Department has no statutory powers to compel professional bodies to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). We are working closely with the group who drafted the MoU, currently led by the UK Council for Psychotherapy, which has successfully increased the number of signatories since the document was first published in February 2015. The group will continue to encourage others to sign up to their revised MoU, which will be extended to include transgender people, over coming months.The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) provides independent accreditation of voluntary registers for counselling and psychotherapy services.Accreditation by the PSA allows commissioners, employers, and service users to assure themselves that the practitioners on these registers meet high standards of training, conduct and competence, and at all times apply high ethical standards to their work.The PSA accredits the following voluntary registers relevant to counselling and psychotherapy:Association of Child Psychotherapists;Association of Christian Counsellors;British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy;British Association of Play Therapists;British Psychoanalytic Council;Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland;National Counselling Society;Play Therapy UK; andUK Council for Psychotherapy.

Counselling and Psychiatry

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that all professional bodies that provide accreditation for counselling and psychotherapy services for the NHS add their signatures to the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK, published in November 2015.

Alistair Burt: The Department has no statutory powers to compel professional bodies to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). We are working closely with the group who drafted the MoU, currently led by the UK Council for Psychotherapy, which has successfully increased the number of signatories since the document was first published in February 2015. The group will continue to encourage others to sign up to their revised MoU, which will be extended to include transgender people, over coming months.The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) provides independent accreditation of voluntary registers for counselling and psychotherapy services.Accreditation by the PSA allows commissioners, employers, and service users to assure themselves that the practitioners on these registers meet high standards of training, conduct and competence, and at all times apply high ethical standards to their work.The PSA accredits the following voluntary registers relevant to counselling and psychotherapy:Association of Child Psychotherapists;Association of Christian Counsellors;British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy;British Association of Play Therapists;British Psychoanalytic Council;Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland;National Counselling Society;Play Therapy UK; andUK Council for Psychotherapy.

Cancer: Drugs

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2015 to Question 23840, on cancer: drugs, whether his Department plans to undertake an impact assessment of NHS England's consultation proposals for a new Cancer Drugs Fund.

George Freeman: The Department has no such plans. NHS England is responsible for the operational management of the Cancer Drugs Fund. NHS England has advised that it does not, as a rule, produce impact assessments as standalone documents. Instead, it seeks to ensure that, as part of its processes to develop any policy or proposal, it considers quality, value for money, equality and accessibility issues.

Stem Cells: Research

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding he plans to provide to stem-cell research in each of the next five years.

George Freeman: Total spend in future years on stem cell research by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity. The usual practice of the NIHR is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including the use of stem cells. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and the National Health Service, value for money and scientific quality.

Medicine: Research

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will consider a de-linked model for biomedical research and development.

George Freeman: The Department is currently in discussion with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry on models that delink company revenues from usage in the context of pricing of antibiotics.

Nurses: Recruitment

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of ending NHS bursaries on the ability of the NHS to recruit nurses from within the UK from 2020 onwards.

Ben Gummer: The Government assessment undertaken to date is that nursing is consistently one of the most popular courses on University Central Administration Service with 57,000 applicants for around 20,000 nursing places in 2014. Midwifery and Allied Health Professional courses receive higher than average applications as well.Rather than denying thousands of United Kingdom applicants a place to study nursing at university and then being forced to hire new nurses from overseas and others from expensive agencies, these reforms will be boosting participation and securing the future supply of home-grown nurses to the National Health Service. The reforms will enable the creation of up to 10,000 additional nursing, midwifery and allied health professional university training places in this Parliament.A public consultation will be published during March 2016, an Equalities Analysis and Economic Impact Assessment will be published alongside the consultation document.

Blood: Contamination

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate the Government has made of the likely savings to the public purse of implementing the changes to financial support for people affected by HIV or hepatitis C through treatment with NHS-supplied blood or blood products set out in the Government's consultation.

Jane Ellison: The Government has been clear that there will be no saving to the public purse as a result of these changes. We are committing up to an additional £125 million to provide support to those affected by this tragedy over the course of this spending review period.

Blood: Contamination

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much financial support his Department has given to people affected by HIV or hepatitis C through treatment with NHS-supplied blood or blood products in each year since 1988.

Jane Ellison: Since 1988 the Government has voluntarily provided ex gratia support for people affected by HIV and/or hepatitis C through treatment with NHS-supplied blood or blood products. To date, over £390 million has been paid out through the schemes, in the United Kingdom.The Department only holds finance data for payments under the schemes back to 2007. This information is provided below.2014-15 £22,278,0962013-14 £27,043,5692012-13 £22,052,4582011-12 £27,192,2322010-11 £39,805,6672009-10 £22,461,0572008-09 £19,240,3372007-08 £20,532,461

Cannabis

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people using cannabis in the UK for medicinal purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the difference in cost to the public purse of people using medicinal cannabis rather than prescription drugs in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of medicinal cannabis use to the NHS in each of the last three years.

George Freeman: We have made no such estimates.Herbal cannabis is not licensed as a medicine and, under section 7(4) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, a pharmacist would need to obtain a licence from the Home Office if they were to dispense cannabis.

Blood: Contamination

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of Crown immunity on the ability to bring legal action on liability for the infection of patients with contaminated NHS blood.

Jane Ellison: The Department’s assessment is that Crown immunity does not limit an individual’s right to redress via legal action. Crown immunity does not protect from civil suit, but only from criminal prosecution. Indeed, some affected persons did bring an action in 1988, which was settled out of court, without establishment of liability.

Cancer: Drugs

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place copies of all responses received to NHS England's consultation on the new Cancer Drugs Fund in the Library.

George Freeman: NHS England has operational responsibility for the Cancer Drugs Fund and has advised that it currently has no plans to publish all responses received on its consultation on the future of the Fund. An analysis of the consultation responses was published on 25 February 2016 and is available at: www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/cdf-consultation

Blood: Contamination

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consultation his Department conducted prior to the launch of its consultation on infected blood: reform of financial and other support.

Jane Ellison: We developed proposals in the consultation document based on a wide range of views we have heard over time including via numerous debates, representations from Members and several inquiries conducted by Parliamentarians. In addition, an independently facilitated meeting was held on 5 October 2015 with some members of three groups (Tainted Blood, the Contaminated Blood Campaign and the Haemophilia Society). The aim was to further inform the Department’s understanding of what matters most to members of these groups in terms of financial and non-financial support. A separate meeting was held in November with members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood, where we sought views on proposals for reform ahead of consultation.

Nabilone

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making the drug nabilone available on the NHS for people with multiple sclerosis.

George Freeman: We have made no such assessment. Nabilone is not licensed for use in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Doctors: Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which clinical speciality area had the highest drop-out rate for trainee doctors in each year since 2010.

Ben Gummer: The requested information is not held centrally.

Mental Health Services: Agency Nurses

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many agency mental health nurses have been employed by each clinical commissioning group in each year since 2010.

Ben Gummer: This information is not collected centrally either by the Department or NHS England.

Mental Health Services: Restraint Techniques

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many incidents of physical injury following restraint there have been in mental health services in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Mental Health Services: Restraint Techniques

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many incidents of face-down restraint there have been in mental health services in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: The information requested has only been collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre since January 2016 with the intention of publishing a report when a meaningful data set is available.

Mental Health: Research

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the return on each pound invested in mental health research.

George Freeman: The estimated return on each pound invested by government and charities in mental health research is between 22 pence and 25 pence per annum. This consists of an estimate of the net value to the United Kingdom of the health benefit arising from the research of seven pence per annum, and the most recent estimate of the general economic benefit that arises from research of between 15 pence and 18 pence per annum for each pound invested.

Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many treatments for rare and infectious diseases have been approved for use on the NHS based on a foreign laboratory test analysis.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is not available. The most appropriate treatment for a rare and infectious disease is determined by the physician looking after the patient. Where laboratory tests have been conducted abroad, they may be repeated in the United Kingdom depending on the condition, particularly where laboratory practice or standards in the country of origin are in doubt.

Lyme Disease

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve the treatment on the NHS for people with Lyme disease.

Jane Ellison: The National Health Service already provides medical care following existing guidance but to strengthen the evidence base we have commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop guidelines for the recognition and treatment of Lyme disease; this is expected in June 2018.New diagnostic tests for Lyme disease are regularly reviewed by Public Health England (PHE) who also participates in a Europe wide Quality Assurance programme to ensure that the most suitable tests available are used.In addition, PHE provides information on Lyme disease and tick awareness to the medical profession and the public, hold regular medical training days, and work with Lyme Disease Action to support the needs and interests of patients.

Lyme Disease

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society on use of results from the European Accredited Laboratory Assay related to Lyme disease to inform the provision of treatment on the NHS for that disease.

Jane Ellison: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has had no discussions with the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society.

Dental Health: Children

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve children's dental health.

Alistair Burt: The Department of Health is working with NHS England to test a contract focused on improving oral health, particularly in children. Public Health England has produced guidance to support local authorities in improving dental health, and to assist dental teams on preventing dental disease in young children. In last week’s budget we have announced the introduction of a sugar levy in 2018.

Dementia

Amanda Milling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to maintain the position of the UK internationally in dementia research and the design of dementia-friendly communities.

Jane Ellison: We will spend more than £300million on dementia research this parliament, aiming to double overall investment by 2025. Additionally, we have spearheaded the £130million Dementia Discovery Fund and plan to invest up to £150million to develop a national Dementia Research Institute by 2020. By 2020, over half of people will be living in dementia friendly communities – of which there are already 147 such communities across England.

General Practitioners

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the level of variation in waiting times for GP appointments.

Alistair Burt: We do not measure waiting times for a GP appointment. However, the GP Patient Survey shows variation between different demographic groups in patients’ experience of being able to book an appointment. The Government is committed to improving access to GP services and ensuring that patients can access evening and weekend appointments by 2020.

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the rebuilding of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.

Ben Gummer: A Full Business Case for the redevelopment of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital will go to the trust board later this month and the approved version will be submitted to NHS Improvement for review. This is now very much a priority project for the Department and NHS Improvement.